By Ayla Ozturk
Effective November 9th, 2021, Christopher Pope [Trustee Area 6] resigned from his seat on the Visalia Unified School District [VUSD] Board of Education.
He is to be replaced by a provisional appointment. This process was also used to appoint Catalina Blair to Area 4’s vacant seat.
This is the second time the Board has had to make a provisional appointment to fill a seat. When replacing John Crabtree [Area 4], they created a process from scratch.
Board President Juan Guerrero says, “Filling a board vacancy is not something you want to do as a school board.”
The Board loses time when filling the seat, they could be conducting board business.
It is difficult to work as a board when there is a vacant seat. With only 6 members, there is the risk of a 3-3 tie when making a decision. In addition, the residents of the area lose their board representative.
Luckily, the Board is more prepared to handle the situation than they were before.
Guerrero says, “The board felt that we [now] have a process in place to move quickly to fill the board seat in order to conduct the business of the board within a month.”
As of November 15th, the Board is accepting applications for the position. Interested members of Area 6 may pick up an application at the VUSD office. Applications must be submitted by 4:00 pm on November 29th.
Applicants can submit their application to the district office or by email to Interim Superintendent Doug Cardoza [dcardoza@vusd.org].
A list of candidates will be posted on December 2nd. They will be interviewed in a public meeting on December 9th at the College of the Sequoias’ theatre.
If no applicants receive a majority vote [4 votes] then an election must be held next April.
Ayla Ozturk
Ayla Ozturk, class of 2024, is a fourth-year journalism student passionate about leading the News section. She is dedicated to informing students and amplifying their voices through Government and Politics writing.
You can reach her at ayla.oz3769@vusd.us.
Tags: area 6, area 6 applications, area 6 vacancy, area six, area six replacement, area six vacancy, ayla ozturk, board, board of trustees, christopher pope, christopher pope replacement, gopo, government and politics, juan guerrero, pope replaced, rangers, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, redwood journalism, redwood rangers, rhs, vacant area 6 seat, visalia ca, VUSD board, vusd board of education
