The Alamance Burlington School System is reviewing 15 applications from individuals seeking to fill a vacant seat on the seven-member board of education — the most people ABSS has ever had apply for a vacancy, according to ABSS board of education member Seneca Rogers. The seat is open following the resignation of Chuck Marsh on Feb. 24. The board will hear from the applicants during its April 28 meeting and could potentially vote the same night to appoint the seat.
The Alamance Board of Education is the local governing body of the Alamance County School System that sets policy and direction and adopts an annual budget.
To fill the vacancy, individuals had to submit a letter of interest that includes background information, and if the applicant is eligible to vote in Alamance County, to the board chair, Sandy Ellington-Graves. Originally, 16 letters of interest were submitted, but one applicant, Gregory Scott wrote in a statement to Elon News Network that he had removed himself from consideration due to the high number of qualified applicants.
“I think it’s important to have a diverse board that reflects the community, and I think the seven of us, we each bring a very unique perspective to the board,” Ellington-Graves said. “We each have our own knowledge, education and experiences that we bring to the board.”
Rogers joined the board through a vacant seat in 2023 and said it’s important to have a full seven-member board because with the vacancy, votes could be left at 3-3.
“You don’t want to sit too long,” Rogers said. “In that situation without it being a way for stuff to move forward and to have a majority on the vote.”
Rogers said that having 15 people apply for the position is the most there’s ever been for a vacancy, and it shows that the community cares about Alamance County’s public education.
“I mean it’s a very broad, diverse range of people and backgrounds that I think is very important to have whenever you’re going to be in governance,” Rogers said.
There are three Elon University employees applying for the vacancy — Evan Small, professor in wellness; Eric Hall, associate provost for scholar and creativity; and Evan Sprinkle, dean of undergraduate admissions. Ellington-Graves said it says a lot about Elon’s commitment to the community.
“I think it’s great to have that higher education knowledge that can be brought in, because that’s what we’re preparing our students for — what comes next,” Ellington-Graves said. “What comes after that K-12 experience?”
Rogers said the relationship between Elon University and Alamance County is significant, like partnerships such as It Takes a Village Project, an after school tutoring session, and Elon Academy, a nonprofit college access program for students in Alamance County. “Having an actual university in Alamance County with as much history and dedication to education, having three people who actually work at Elon wanting to try to put their name in there for interest, to try to fill that seat, I think it’s very important,” Rogers said.
Improving academic outcomes and supporting the students are some goals that the board of education has for this year. Ellington-Graves said that before they can accomplish these, their main goal is to first fill the seat.
“Serving on the school board is a privilege, but it does carry a lot of weight,” Ellington-Graves said. “It brings a lot of rewarding activity, but there’s also a lot of challenge, so somebody who’s up for that task.”
The board is non-partisan and has Republicans, Democrats and unaffiliated individuals, Ellington-Graves said. The race itself is nonpartisan and so when candidates are running they are not running with a specific party. According to Ellington-Graves, 10 applicants have children enrolled in ABSS, and four work in higher education.
“Our top priority is bringing somebody on the board who can catch themselves up to speed pretty quickly,” Ellington-Graves said. “We’re in the middle of budget season, and that’s always a challenge.” The April 28 meeting is open to all candidates to speak in front of the board. The May 27 board meeting is when the selected applicant will be sworn in.
“It could become a vote, and somebody could get appointed that night,” Rogers said. “We’re hoping to have it done before we have our evening meeting in May, because we want to actually have somebody at that meeting getting sworn in so they can start in that seat.”