BURKEonBOARD

(Nov. 5, 2008) – First things first.

Thank you for your support. I’m honored to have been elected to the Farmington school board. No matter the office, it is humbling to win an elected office and understand the trust placed in you. I promise to act on the words spoken during the campaign, but I also promise to work with the other members of the board to make a better school district.

Enough for savoring the election results. Apparently, we’re not done picking a school board.

Terry Donnelly’s win in his city council bid means he will soon have to resign his school board seat and the school board will have to select someone to complete his term. At its last meeting, the board decided that it would accept applications for the open seat from anyone who was on the primary school board ballot.

That means Veronica Walter, Kim Simones, Bruce Westover, Carol Kappes and Jim Peroutky could all apply. And the board could pick any one of them.

If the board picked anyone but Veronica Walter, however, it would be a complete miscarriage of justice. Walter finished fourth in the primary election and fourth in yesterday’s general election, more than 1330 votes ahead of the next closest candidate.

It would be wrong for the school board to substitute their judgment for the clear preference of the voters.

When the board chose its method for filling a prospective board vacancy, it rejected (on a tie vote) an open application process that would allowed all comers to apply for the seat. It never voted on the other likely option, going with the fourth place vote getter in the general election.

But, in hind sight, it was a mistake not to do so, especially since the fourth place voter getter now is so clearly preferred compared to the rest of the field.

Throughout the campaign, Walter has demonstrated a careful and considered outlook on the needs of the district and how she would perform in the position. She was endorsed by the Farmington Education Association. And her professional work as a counselor in another school district gives her an insight into the nuts and bolts of education that no one else on the board would have.

The board should move quickly to open and close the application period for the vacant seat and then appoint Walter. It’s the right thing to do.