By the time the 2018-2019 school year begins, the Columbus Municipal School District will fill dozens of positions.
But the two most important positions that must be filled are the two most immediate – a remaining position on the CMSD Board of Trustees and a new district superintendent.
A strong argument could be made that the first position is the most important, since the person selected to fill the board seat will have a direct say in who the new superintendent will be.
On Tuesday, the Columbus City Council appointed Yvonne Cox to one of the two board member positions that opened when Angela Verdell’s four-year term expired and Currie Fisher resigned before the end of her term.
There are currently two applicants for the remaining board member seat. The council is expected to make that appointment during its March 20 council meeting. Applications for the position will remain open until then and we strongly encourage qualified, civic-minded residents to seriously consider applying for the position. There are currently two applicants. We would like to see more on theory that the bigger the pool of candidates, the more options the council will have to choose from.
Serving on the CMSD board is something not to be taken lightly. The job is often thankless, always time-consuming and vitally important to the future of our schools and, by extension, the health and well-being of our community.
We believe that the greatest strength of any community is its citizens and are confident that there are many in our community with the talents, experience and devotion that could serve our community in this, a time of need.
We urge those citizens to step forward for the good of our school children and our community.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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