UPDATED: Unit 5 scrambles to fill three school board vacancies

Posted on June 22, 2018
Unit 5
The Unit 5 School Board now has three vacancies after the resignation Friday of David Fortner, who’s seated to the left.(File photo by Howard Packowitz/WJBC)

 

By Howard Packowitz

NORMAL – The resignation of a third Unit 5 School Board member in recent weeks was revealed only a day after board members interviewed four candidates to fill the first vacancy.

Unit 5 announced Friday that David Fortner had resigned effective immediately after accepting a job that will cause him to move to the Chicago suburbs.

The board met in closed session Thursday to interview candidates to replace board member Jim Hayek, who resigned this spring to work at State Farm’s Phoenix, Arizona hub.

Board President Barry Hitchens said the four candidates to replace Hayek are Silas “Rex” Morrow, Melissa Engel, Alan Kalitzky, and Amy Roser. Hayek’s replacement will be named at the school board’s July 11 meeting.

Hitchens said the three candidates who aren’t chosen to take Hayek’s seat will be in the running with other applicants to replace Joseph Cleary, who announced earlier this month he’s leaving his job as instructor of construction management at Illinois State University to teach the same subject at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.

The school board has 45 days to fill Fortner’s position. All three board seats will be up for election next April.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]

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