Nine people have applied for an open seat on the Christian County Board of Education, and current board members could vote as soon as Wednesday to fill the District 4 position.
Superintendent Chris Bentzel’s office announced the names of the applicants Monday morning in a press release. The release lists the names but does not provide biographical information about the candidates. The release states that all of the candidates meet Kentucky Board of Education qualifications to serve on the board.
The applicants are: Caleb Ballard, Desma Blount, Amy Falco, Gary Haile, Linda Keller, Delinda Norrid, Rebecca Pepper, Thomas Parker and Michael Thompson.
The school board has scheduled a special meeting at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 21, at the central office, 200 Glass Ave., to consider the applicants and possibly vote on a replacement for the seat that Mike Walker left before the end of his term.
“We have had a great deal of interest in the seat,” Bentzel said in the release. ”There is a good process in place and I trust the Board will work hard to see the right candidate is selected to fill the seat. I am looking forward to working with the new District 4 representative.”
The chosen candidate will take office immediately and will be sworn in during the Jan. 5 workshop meeting — when board members Tom Bell and Lindsey Clark will also take the oath to begin their new terms.
Hoptown Chronicle filed an open records request Monday morning for the application forms submitted by the nine candidates. That request is pending.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
