Seat open on Rochester board

ROCHESTER – The Rochester School District will appoint a new school board member after longtime member Maurene Stubbins announced her resignation from the board last week.

Stubbins, who began serving in Rochester’s Director District 4 in 1994, cited health and personal reasons for her resignation, which comes two years before the seat will be up for election.

“I had planned on finishing out my term, but I’ve had health issues which caused me to resign,” she said on Sunday. Stubbins said she has had eye surgeries recently.

“I usually finish things out,” she said.

Stubbins said she had timed her resignation to allow her replacement to start with the new school year.

She said she plans to stay involved with the district and help out with committees and with passing its maintenance and operations levy. The district passed a two-year levy in 2008 and will need to go to voters in 2010 for a renewal.

“This community has always stepped up to the plate,” she said. “Maybe not always the first time with the levies, but after they learn about where the money comes from, we’ve always supported it.”

She said she didn’t know when she started that she would remain on the board for 15 years.

“I didn’t really think about that. I knew I wanted to be part of implementing educational reform,” she said.

The school district is accepting letters of interest for Stubbins’ position until Aug. 5, superintendent Jim Anderson said in a news release. People can also suggest candidates for the position.

Board members hope to appoint Stubbins’ successor from the pool of applicants by the board’s regularly scheduled Aug. 26 meeting, Anderson said.

“It depends on how many we get,” he said.

The board plans to review the applicants at an open work session at 7 p.m. Aug. 12 at Rochester High School library, 19800 Carper Road S.W.

Applicants must live within the boundaries of Director District 4, which are east of Tea Street between U.S. Highway 12 and Old Highway 9, east of Interstate 5 from Highway 12 to the district boundary line, and east and northeast of Hobson Street Southwest to the district boundary line. Potential applicants can find out whether they live within the boundary lines by calling the district at 360-273-5536.

The newly appointed board member would not be on November’s ballot because the seat is not up for election until November 2011, Anderson said. The new board member will hold the position through December 2011.

Venice Buhain: 360-754-5445

vbuhain@theolympian.com