SALAMANCA — The Salamanca City Central School District Board of Education is seeking a replacement to fill the vacant seat of Dr. Meghan McCune, who resigned from the board Aug. 6.
The board is in discussions of how to fill her vacant seat until the next board election May 17, 2022. The remainder of McCune’s five-year term is due to expire in 2023.
“They have not yet reached a formal decision on that process, but they do plan on filling the seat,” Robert Breidenstein, district superintendent, said Monday.
Salamanca’s school board plans to meet today at 5:30 p.m. where McCune’s resignation is on the agenda to be officially accepted.
McCune was elected to the board in May 2018 and was sworn in that June, serving just over three years of her five-year-term.
Breidenstein said McCune’s resignation was not a surprise to the district. He said the board knew she had accepted a new job out of state and would be moving.
“She had a fantastic career opportunity for herself,” he said of McCune’s decision. “She was an influential force on our board and we’re going to miss her contributions.”
The process for filling a vacant school board seat for a New York state public school district offers a few different options, Breidenstein explained. The board could leave the seat vacant until May 17, 2022; appoint someone to hold the seat until that election where the appointed member could run for the remainder of the term; or schedule a special election before May 17.
“Whoever is going to fill that vacancy is going to need to be part of the next referendum and election to fill out the remainder of that term,” he added.
Some individuals have reached out to the board with interest to serve as a member, Breidenstein said, but those are board conversations that happen without the superintendent.
“I’m sure there will be a conversation at Tuesday’s board member now that Dr. McCune’s resignation has been official and the board will adopt it,” he said. “I would imagine that Tuesday or at the next school board meeting there will be a more formal statement of what the process will look like.”
As a personal note, Breidenstein expressed his joy working with McCune over the past three years. He said she brought a perspective to the board that helped make the administration and district better.
“That’s what we ultimately seek in our board members,” he added. “They help us make good decisions and they bring new and exciting and important ideas to the table, and Dr. McCune certainly did that very well.”
