Participants
Everyone heard or addressed on the recording. Names follow the speaker attribution in the dialogue file and the project's 2015-2023 roster; where a name rests on weak evidence, the participation cell says so. There are no minutes to check spellings against.
| Name | Role | Participation |
|---|
| Brian Rapp | Chair | Presides throughout, asks the first and last interview questions of each applicant, and declines to move the appointment himself: "I share, I can't make the motion." (1:39:41). Questions how the i-Ready results will reach parents before teacher training (1:47:37). |
| Chris Irish | Vice Chair | Asks interview questions, argues for letting the student representative into the nonpublic session (1:35:08), and moves Herzog's appointment (1:39:52). In the fund balance discussion he asks for the tax effect of keeping the maximum and of returning everything. The dialogue file's attribution of this voice is rated medium confidence. |
| Michelle Pierce | Member | Answers the roll call (0:01:14). Also speaks during citizens' comments, introducing herself as "Michelle Pierce, Ward one" (0:29:19) to announce Christmas in Claremont 2016 and a fundraising goal of "at least 2000" for LED lighting. Asks interview questions and asks whether retained funds could buy a special education building (2:14:33). |
| Frank Sprague | Member | Answers the roll call. Recalls asking, as Stevens High School principal, for a list of essential skills (0:27:23). Moves the early release change (1:46:31) and asks the business administrator whether retained funds might be needed for anything besides tax relief (2:01:20). |
| Patrick Adrian | Member | Proposes skipping interview questions that the opening statements cover (0:36:39), asks whether teachers take leave before Thanksgiving (1:46:45), and raises property reassessment in the fund balance discussion (2:04:47). |
| Brent Ferland | Member | Moves the amended agenda (0:03:09) and the adjournment (2:22:34), and proposes returning the $395,000 carried over and keeping the rest (2:18:05). Never named on this recording; the dialogue file assigns the voice by elimination, and its attribution report rates that low confidence. |
| Marion Lovett | Student representative | Delivers the student and principals' report (0:04:51), asks each applicant how they would ensure their dedication, and asks to join the nonpublic deliberation (1:36:02). Labeled Marion in the dialogue file; the surname follows the superintendent's "Mary Ann Lovett" (1:36:29) and the November 16 dialogue file, as recorded in the project's CSV corrections ledger (medium confidence). |
| Middleton McGoodwin | Superintendent, SAU 6 | Requests the agenda changes, gives the superintendent's report on district goals, partnerships and wood-pellet heating, introduces the applicants and explains the interview process (0:33:56), and asks the board to move the early release day. |
| Cory LeClair | SAU 6 administrator (assistant superintendent per the project roster) | Explains that the business administrator is still finalizing the annual report (0:02:26), produces the oath of office (1:06:53), and answers questions on the i-Ready parent reports and training (1:48:32). |
| Michael O'Neill | Business administrator, SAU 6 | Presents the DOE-25 and MS-25 for fiscal 2016, the $651,329 unassigned fund balance, the options for retaining part of it, and the effect on the tax rate; asks the board to sign the signature forms (2:20:51). Transcribed "Michael Neil" when the superintendent names him. |
| Mary Woodman | School district clerk | Calls the roll (0:01:14) and administers the oaths to Dr. Herzog (1:40:42). Named by the superintendent (0:35:23). |
| Dr. Alex Herzog | Applicant; appointed and sworn in | "I'm Doctor Alex Herzog" (0:53:16); vice president for student affairs and community affairs at River Valley Community College, Army veteran, two children in the district, in Claremont since July. Interviewed from 0:53:08; appointed and sworn in. |
| Mike Siri | Applicant; citizens' comment | Retired Claremont math teacher ("I have been a resident of Claremont since 1988", 0:38:30). Speaks during citizens' comments about volunteer tutoring (0:25:04) and is the first applicant interviewed. Surname spelling unverified; the transcript renders it "Siri". |
| Rebecca Zullo | Applicant | "My name is Rebecca Zullo." (1:09:32); former district employee and mother of four who draws on occupational therapy. Interviewed from 1:09:21; closes by asking the board how it thinks it is doing. |
| Richard Seaman | Applicant; former board member | Withdraws his application at the microphone, citing his work schedule in Woodstock, and offers to stay involved in strategic planning (1:07:12). |
| Unidentified | Various | 157 of 861 dialogue rows (18.2%) are short fragments, seconds and votes the diarizer could not tie to a person, including the seconds and roll-call answers on the nonpublic motion and the appointment. |
Order of business (reconstructed)
No agenda survives. The superintendent refers to agenda items by Roman numeral and says the nonpublic item lists its RSA; the list below is reconstructed from the chair's transitions.
| Taken up | Item | What was said and done |
|---|
| 0:00:42 | Call to order, Pledge, roll call | Roll call heard only in part: "Michelle Pierce here. Frank Sprague here. And Brian here." (0:01:14). |
| 0:01:21 | Agenda changes | The superintendent asks to revisit the 2016-2017 school calendar and to add the business administrator's budget report after the action items. Motion "to approve the agenda, as amended" (0:03:09); approved by voice vote (0:03:14). |
| 0:03:28 | Minutes of October 19 | Moved ("The minutes is written and presented."), seconded, approved by voice vote (0:03:42). |
| 0:04:51 | Student representative's report | Marion Lovett reports school news from Stevens High School, the Sugar River Valley Regional Technical Center, Disnard, Bluff and the middle school. |
| 0:12:53 | Superintendent's report | District goals, attendance, post-secondary readiness, school nurses, Valley Regional Hospital, wood pellets, a cybersecurity calendar and Green Dot training. No action. |
| 0:25:00 | Citizens' comments | Mike Siri on fractions; Frank Sprague's footnote; Michelle Pierce on Christmas in Claremont. Closed at 0:33:45. |
| 0:33:54 | Board vacancy: applicant interviews | Four applicants introduced; Siri, Herzog and Zullo interviewed one at a time on a common question sheet while the others wait outside; Seaman withdraws (1:07:36). |
| 1:34:38 | Nonpublic session | The chair: "So we need a motion for RSA 91 a three two." (1:34:49), followed by See second (1:34:54). A roll call is taken (1:35:32 to 1:35:48); individual answers are not attributable. The student representative is admitted at the board's request. The session itself is not recorded. |
| 1:38:31 | Return to public session; minutes sealed | "Motion to come out of nonpublic." The chair asks "Doesn't need to be roll call to come out does it." (1:38:38) and takes a voice vote. Then: "Would it be prudent to seal the minutes of nonpublic." (1:38:57); So moved., second, voice vote, no opposition heard (1:39:08). |
| 1:39:14 | Appointment to the vacancy | Irish: "I'll make the motion that we appoint, Alex to fill the seat until March 2nd." (1:40:10) [likely "until March. Second."; no separate second is heard]. Voice vote, Aye, aye. Aye., no opposition heard (1:40:25). The clerk swears in Dr. Herzog (1:40:42 to 1:41:52). |
| 1:43:15 | Discussion items: community forum; 2016-17 calendar | The superintendent previews the next day's strategic-plan forum and asks to move the early release day from November 3 to Tuesday, November 22. Sprague moves "We approve the. Schedule change as proposed by the administration." (1:46:32); seconded; approved by voice vote (1:54:36). |
| 1:54:45 | Policies | Postponed at the superintendent's recommendation "Looking at the hour". |
| 1:55:26 | Business administrator: fiscal 2016 annual reports | DOE-25 and MS-25 for 2015-16; $651,329 unassigned fund balance; options for retention; signature forms for both reports. No vote: "I don't really need anything from the board." (2:18:54). |
| 2:22:34 | Adjournment | Brent Ferland: "Put forth a motion to adjourn second." Voice vote. |
Discussion timeline
Times are taken from the dialogue transcript (Dialogue/8732 SchoolBoard110216.mp4.CSV) and link into the recording. Quotations are as transcribed; bracketed words are corrections, with the transcript's wording kept where the correction changes sense.
Chronological topics with the most concrete material first.
| Time | Topic | What was said | Flags |
|---|
| 0:01:26 | Annual report not yet finished | The superintendent asks to add a budget item for the business administrator. LeClair: "I believe Mike O'Neill is working currently on the annual, report, the Miss document, and needs to be working on finalizing that to discuss that tonight." | HIGH |
| 0:04:51 | Student representative's report | Football playoffs Saturday; Technical Center and Stevens teachers in project-based learning training with the Southern Regional Education Board; nearly 50 Key Club members raised funds for UNICEF's tetanus campaign; a student survey on Flex; early college applications "18% of the class"; middle school student-led conferences, a foster-care service learning project, and a renewable energy club proposed at "$10 per child for 12 to 15 students". | |
| 0:13:28 | District goals | The superintendent restates the goal that "100% of our students demonstrate measurable growth in reading, writing and math" and the attendance goal: "student attendance at Stevens High School will be no less than 93% as of right now. As of today, it's about 92%." He relays a state presentation: "99% of all jobs created after the 2008 financial recession" required post-secondary training. | |
| 0:18:39 | Nurses and Valley Regional Hospital | "we don't have a central nurse leader position", so the superintendent meets the nurses himself; he will meet Peter Wright, Valley Regional Hospital CEO, about support from the hospital's nursing program. | |
| 0:20:13 | Wood pellets and the Stevens renovation | A Northern Forest Center handout: wood pellets cut greenhouse gases "by 54% compared to all, and almost 60% compared to natural gas" [oil]. The superintendent links the savings to the March 2013 vote for "a $12.5 million renovation with zero state aid, not a dime from the state." | |
| 0:23:00 | Cybersecurity and Green Dot | A student-produced cybersecurity calendar is passed around; the superintendent will attend Green Dot violence-prevention training and credits LeClair's role in the initiative. | |
| 0:25:04 | Citizens' comments: Mike Siri | Siri, who says "This has nothing to do with the fact that I'll be up in a minute", describes volunteer tutoring at the prison: a student who knew the quadratic formula but not fractions. Sprague adds that fractions were on the math department's list of essential skills when he was principal (0:27:23). | |
| 0:29:19 | Citizens' comments: Christmas in Claremont | Pierce, speaking as an organizer, asks for volunteers on three weekends, describes trees for every school "including our our nonaffiliated schools", a "homeless tree" at the gazebo, and a goal "to raise at least 2000, if not more" for LED lights. | |
| 0:33:56 | The vacancy and the process | The superintendent introduces "Mister Mike, Siri, Doctor Alex Herzog, Mr. Richard Seaman and Miss Rebecca Zullo" for the seat "through March of 2017", explains opening statements and common questions, then: "the board would go into nonpublic and the RSA is listed, and the board would deliberate and determine which candidate will complete the open school board term. And then we would return, you would return to public session and that would be a public announcement." No oath text is on hand (0:35:23). | MED POS |
| 0:37:31 | Interview format | The chair: "We'll have the three candidates hang out outside just so you don't hear the questions and have a chance to prep". Members take turns reading the same questions to each applicant. | POS |
| 0:38:30 | Interview: Mike Siri | Most pressing problem: "I would have to say money." On readiness, children need to be fed, clothed and safe before they can learn. On teachers: "there is a perception that that teachers feel very hesitant to speak out." Three qualities: "Transparency. Positivity." and intelligence. Five-year vision: "better budgets" and "a high level of two way communication". | |
| 0:53:08 | Interview: Dr. Alex Herzog | Pressing problems: individual student needs and truancy. On running in March: "I think this would be something that I have a real interest in." Vision: more bridges between River Valley Community College and the high school. Pierce asks how he would balance board time with family; he answers that he focuses on "quality time". | |
| 1:07:12 | Richard Seaman withdraws | "What I'd like to do, if I could is actually withdraw my application for this." He notes "it's absolutely wonderful to have gotten four people who have applied for one position." | |
| 1:09:32 | Interview: Rebecca Zullo | "We have kids who aren't eating." She argues for meeting basic and developmental needs before testing, more behavior training for teachers, and transparency: "when you stop being transparent with things, it causes distrust." On running in March she is undecided. She asks the board how it thinks it is doing; Pierce answers "fair to Midland", Adrian, Sprague and Rapp also respond. | |
| 1:34:49 | Entering nonpublic | "So we need a motion for RSA 91 a three two." The next row reads See second, which may carry a lettered paragraph (C) or may be noise. Irish proposes admitting the student representative: "this is gray area for me anyway. I don't think we need to go in on public" [nonpublic]. The superintendent: "It's not about Mary Ann Lovett. It's about students." (1:36:29). | MED |
| 1:38:57 | Sealing the nonpublic minutes | "Would it be prudent to seal the minutes of nonpublic." A member: "Yes. Yes. So moved." The chair calls a voice vote; no reason for sealing is stated. | MED |
| 1:39:52 | Appointment of Dr. Herzog | Irish: "it was a really hard choice. And it's a good choice to have to make." and "I wasn't kidding when I hoped to see the other two on a on a ballot come March." Motion to appoint "Alex to fill the seat until March 2nd"; voice vote. The clerk administers the oath of allegiance and the oath of office "As school board member" (1:41:37). | POS |
| 1:44:11 | Early release day moved to November 22 | The approved November 3 early release was never publicized while the district waited for i-Ready to confirm trainers; "it would be unfair to the parents to give them such short notice about a a early release day." Stevens would dismiss at 10:50 and the other schools at noon. Food service, transportation and the teachers' association have been consulted. LeClair: parent reports will go home before teachers are trained; "this is implementation here. This is baseline here." Approved by voice vote. | |
| 1:57:18 | The DOE-25 and the fund balance | O'Neill: the most important number in the 25-page DOE-25 is the unassigned fund balance on page 1. "The amount is $651,329." Last year the district carried over "395,000 321" and gave back $544,000 to offset taxes, from $939,801 left over the year before. This year's surplus is "mainly health trusts giving us our final $500,000" of premium refunds. | |
| 1:59:33 | How much to retain | "We have the ability to carry over up to 402,800." and "basically every $450,000 is another dollar on the tax rate." He recommends keeping 325 and returning 325: "if we give back half and we keep 325, the tax rates still going to go up $1.61." The main driver is "a loss of adequacy of $500,000". | OBS |
| 2:01:26 | What retained funds may be used for | O'Neill: "The specific purposes of that carryover are are unexpected, catastrophic special education expenses or unexpected catastrophic building failure expenses, or to help stabilize the tax rate." Later, reading closer to the statute: "it can only be spent under expenditure over expenditures under RSA 32. 11 ought to be used as revenue source to reduce the tax rate." (2:13:36). Irish and Pierce ask whether it could buy a building to bring special education students back in district; O'Neill says no. | OBS |
| 2:03:03 | Stabilization grant and trust funds | "there was a $6 million, what they call the stabilization grant that was given to us in 2012. They could take that away over 20, 25 years at 4% per year." The district has $200,000 in building trust funds, but "on the special ed side, we have no catastrophic special ed trust fund." | OBS |
| 2:10:50 | Tax-rate scenarios | "If we kept the most we could keep, it would be $1.72 up. If we keep half and half it's $1.61. If we give it all back it's $1.14." The superintendent warns that returning everything leaves "a real problem" a year from now. Irish: "pay me now. Pay me later." | OBS |
| 2:17:15 | Catastrophic aid | O'Neill: "the calculation of of catastrophic aid that Claremont was entitled to for the current fiscal year is 740,000 844, but because the state's only paying at 69%, we're only going to get five, 13, 104." [$740,844 entitlement, about $513,104 paid]. "The RSA says they'll pay 100%. And they're basically going to pay 69%." | OBS |
| 2:18:05 | No vote on retention | Brent Ferland proposes returning the $395,000 carried over and keeping the rest; O'Neill restates the half-and-half split; Ferland: "Sounds good to be." Asked about a motion, O'Neill: "I don't really need anything from the board." | OBS |
| 2:19:01 | Signatures for the annual reports | "I'm the person who signs the miss 24" [MS-24]; "if you look at the miss 25, it's a five page report" with "651329 again" on page 1. "However, what I do need is signatures". "So basically what we have is signature forms for the school financial report, which is the 2025 and then the D 25. So I need you guys to sign two of those." The checksum "does equal zero, which is a good thing considering I was working on it for 12 hours today trying to get it done." | HIGH |
Items flagged for review
These flags are a reviewer's aid, not findings of violation and not legal advice. Each one names the rule it rests on, as that rule read on November 2, 2016, or is labeled an observation where no verified rule applies.
HIGH The fiscal 2016 DOE-25 and MS-25 were still being finished and signed two months after the September 1 filing date
On November 2 the assistant superintendent said the business administrator was "working currently on the annual, report, the Miss document, and needs to be working on finalizing that" (0:02:26). The business administrator then presented the DOE-25 and the MS-25 for 2015-16, said he had been "working on it for 12 hours today trying to get it done", and asked members to sign "signature forms for the school financial report, which is the 2025 and then the D 25" (2:20:51, 2:21:17). RSA 198:4-d, III, as it read in 2016, required each school district's financial report to the commissioner of education, with receipts, expenditures and a balance sheet, to be "submitted on or before September 1 of each year", with a certification signed by the board chair. RSA 21-J:34, V required the same financial report to the Department of Revenue Administration: "School districts shall submit financial reports on or before September 1 of each year." Neither text, as read for this page, provides an extension for school districts. November 2 is 62 days after September 1. The record does not show whether a preliminary version was filed earlier or whether either department agreed to a later date; the district's filing records would settle it.
Sources: RSA 198:4-d, III (2016 codification; source note ends 2016, 8:12, eff. Mar. 16, 2016): financial report on or before September 1, chair's certification; RSA 21-J:34, V (2016 codification; source note ends 2007, 182:2): school district financial reports on or before September 1
MEDIUM No agenda, packet or minutes for this meeting survive in any district share
MAP.md records no Drive material: the district's shares hold no year folder older than 2022, and the Meeting Minutes share starts at 2023. The board appointed a member and sealed the minutes of a nonpublic session at this meeting, and the recording is now the only public account. RSA 91-A:2, II, in the text in force in 2016, required minutes including "names of members, persons appearing before the public bodies, and a brief description of the subject matter discussed and final decisions", "open to public inspection not more than 5 business days after the meeting". This page applies the MEDIUM limb of the project's severity rule because the record mitigates the gap: the board approved the October 19 minutes at this meeting (0:03:28), the clerk is present, and the superintendent refers to a written agenda that lists the nonpublic statute (0:34:55), so minutes and agendas were being kept. In 2016 the statute required inspection, not online posting; what is missing is any public copy now.
Sources: RSA 91-A:2, II (2015 codification; source note ends 2008, 303:4, so in force through 2016)
MEDIUM The motion to enter nonpublic session is not heard to state a specific exemption, and none plainly covers choosing a board appointee
The chair asked for "a motion for RSA 91 a three two" (1:34:49); the next row reads only See second (1:34:54), which may be the letter (c) or may be noise. A roll call followed (1:35:32 to 1:35:48). RSA 91-A:3, I(b) required that "Any motion to enter nonpublic session shall state on its face the specific exemption under paragraph II", by roll call. Paragraph II lists the permitted subjects; the nearest are II(b), "The hiring of any person as a public employee", and II(c), matters that would likely affect adversely the reputation of a person "other than a member of the public body itself". An appointee to an elected board is not obviously a public employee, and II(c) protects reputation, not deliberation as such. Mitigation: the superintendent said the agenda lists the RSA (0:34:55), the applicants were not members, and the appointment itself was voted in public. Whether the agenda named a paragraph, and whether (c) was meant, cannot be settled without the agenda or minutes.
Sources: RSA 91-A:3, I(b), II(b), II(c) (2016 codification; the project anchors record these passages as identical to the 2015 text in force from Jan. 1, 2016)
MEDIUM Nonpublic minutes sealed by voice vote with no statutory determination stated
After the session the chair asked "Would it be prudent to seal the minutes of nonpublic." and took a voice vote with no opposition heard (1:38:57, 1:39:08). RSA 91-A:3, III required minutes and decisions of a nonpublic session to be disclosed within 72 hours unless the body, "by recorded vote of 2/3 of the members present taken in public session", determines that disclosure would likely affect adversely the reputation of a non-member, render the proposed action ineffective, or relate to terrorism. The vote was in public session and appears unanimous, but no member stated which determination the board was making. The decision the session produced, the appointment, was announced and voted in public at once, so the sealed minutes would at most record the deliberation about the applicants.
Sources: RSA 91-A:3, III (2016 codification; same wording as the 2015 text)
OBSERVATION Retained year-end funds: purposes described more narrowly than the statute, and no board vote on the amount
The business administrator first described the permitted uses of the retained fund as "unexpected, catastrophic special education expenses or unexpected catastrophic building failure expenses, or to help stabilize the tax rate" (2:01:26), and later in words closer to the statute (2:13:36). RSA 198:4-b, II, as it read in 2016, allowed voters to authorize retention of year-end unassigned funds "not to exceed, in any fiscal year, 2.5 percent of the current fiscal year's net assessment", for "emergency expenditures and overexpenditures under RSA 32:11, or to be used as a revenue source to reduce the tax rate". His statement that a building purchase does not qualify matches the statute. The board reached an apparent consensus on keeping about $325,000 of the $651,329 (2:18:17), but no motion was made and the business administrator said he needed nothing from the board (2:18:54). The 2016 text does not say who decides the amount retained, so no rule is engaged; the effect on the tax rate ($1.14 to $1.72 by his figures) was decided without a recorded vote.
Sources: RSA 198:4-b, II (2015 codification; source note ends 2014, 190:6; 2.5 percent until 2020, 38:25)
OBSERVATION "The RSA says they'll pay 100%": the catastrophic aid statute provides for proration
The business administrator said Claremont's catastrophic aid entitlement was $740,844 but the state was paying 69%, and "The RSA says they'll pay 100%. And they're basically going to pay 69%." (2:17:48). RSA 186-C:18, III, as it read in 2016, made the state liable for 80 percent of a child's special education costs above 3 1/2 times the state average expenditure per pupil and all costs above 10 times, and provided that if the appropriation is insufficient the payments are "prorated proportionally based on entitlement". Underpayment against entitlement was therefore lawful proration, not a breach of a 100% promise; the shortfall to the district is real either way. By contrast, his account of the stabilization grant, reduced by 4% a year from its 2012 level (2:03:03), matches RSA 198:41, IV(d) as amended in 2016.
Sources: RSA 186-C:18, III (2016 codification; source note ends 2011, 224:227); RSA 198:41, IV(d) (2016 codification; source note ends 2016, 85:9, eff. July 18, 2016)
POSITIVE Vacancy filled through public interviews on common questions and a public vote
RSA 671:33, II(a), as it read in 2016, provided that "The school board shall fill vacancies occurring on the school board" and that appointees serve until the next district election; it prescribed no process. The board went well beyond that minimum: the superintendent introduced all four applicants by name (0:33:56), each interview used the same question sheet with the other applicants outside the room (0:37:31), every interview was on camera, and the motion and vote to appoint were taken in public session immediately after the nonpublic deliberation (1:40:10). Voters watching can compare the applicants' answers for themselves.
Sources: RSA 671:33, II(a) (2016 codification; source note ends 2013, 114:1, eff. Aug. 24, 2013)
Appendix: source files
Official and public sources
- Cablecast: SCHOOL BOARD MEETING 11-2-16 (show 8732; run time from the Cablecast API not retrieved, the API returned 403 on 2026-10-02)
- Google Drive: no packet folder, agenda or minutes. MAP.md: "neither share holds a year folder older than 2022, and the Meeting Minutes share starts at 2023 (checked 9/26/26)." Not searched again for this page, per the run instructions for meetings with no Drive material.
Project files
Working files this page was built from. The dialogue file is linked; the others are not published with the page.
Dialogue/8732 SchoolBoard110216.mp4.CSV (861 attributed rows; the basis of this page)Input/Videos/8732 SchoolBoard110216.mp4Input/Transcripts/8732 SchoolBoard110216.mp4.jsonInput/SupportingDocuments/MAP.md, section 17Scripts/attribution_reports_2015_2023/8732 SchoolBoard110216.mp4.md (speaker attribution report)
Laws and rules cited on this page
- RSA 198:4-d, III, 2016 codification: school district financial report to the commissioner of education on or before September 1, with the chair's certification
- RSA 21-J:34, V, 2016 codification: school district financial reports to the Department of Revenue Administration on or before September 1
- RSA 91-A:2, II, 2015 codification (in force until Jan. 1, 2017): minutes content and five-business-day inspection
- RSA 91-A:3, I(b), II(b), II(c), III, 2016 codification: nonpublic motion must state the exemption; hiring and reputation exemptions; sealing by recorded two-thirds vote with a determination
- RSA 198:4-b, II, 2015 codification: retention of up to 2.5% of net assessment for RSA 32:11 emergencies and overexpenditures or tax-rate reduction
- RSA 186-C:18, III, 2016 codification: catastrophic special education aid and proportional proration
- RSA 198:41, IV(d), 2016 codification: stabilization grant percentage reduced by 4 percent a year from fiscal 2017
- RSA 671:33, II(a), 2016 codification: the school board fills board vacancies until the next district election