Shawnee school board seeks applicant for open seat

The Shawnee Board of Education is seeking another applicant to fill the now-vacant Office 5 seat.

This comes after Office 3 was left vacant for more than 60 days. An election was required and June Taffee filed and drew no opposition, winning the seat by default.

Taffee was sworn in at the July meeting, amid discussion of rezoning the school district to only five seats instead of seven. At the August meeting, Kay Hawkins of Office 5 resigned to move closer to family, and talks of rezoning continued.

A subcommittee was created to research rezoning to five seats instead of the current seven. At the September meeting, the subcommittee recommended the board not drop back to five seats, but instead look for people who can fill the vacancies, Marc Moore, Shawnee Schools Superintendent, said.

No applications have been received yet, Moore said. The board has 60 days from Hawkins’ resignation for someone to apply, or an election will be held. The board has until Monday, Oct. 8, to fill the seat before an election.

In order to be seated on the board of education, you must live within the Office 5 district. Office 5 covers the area north of Highland Street between Harrison Street and Bryan Street.

Also included in the Office 5 area is a small portion north of Independence Street between Harrison Street and just east of Elm Street.

The applicant must have resided in the district for six months, hold a high school diploma or the equivalent, and cannot be employed by the school district.

Anyone interested in applying should contact the Superintendent’s office at 405-273-0653.