Kirk resigns from OKC school board
A member of the Oklahoma City School Board will resign after a year and eight months in office.
District 7 representative J ace Kirk has submitted his resignation, which will beef fect ive Oct.
9. The board accepted his resignation during its meeting Monday.
Kirk said he is moving out of his district, which would disqualify him from representing the area on the board. He and his wife bought a home down the street from his parents' house between Moore and Norman.
“It's something we've been talking about doing for maybe in a couple of years, but an opportunity came and was too hard to pass up,” he said. “Really sad to have to re sign, but I won't be living in District 7 any longer.”
Kirk was the only candidate to run for the District 7 seat in last year's school board election. He was elected by default Feb. 13, 2018, to a four-year term. His district covers the southeast portion of the district.
Significant events in the Oklahoma City school district have filled Kirk's short tenure, including changes at the superintendent po sition, a teacher walkout, a new mental health and wellness initiative, and districtwide school consolidations.
“It's been quite a ride,” Kirk said. “I feel like I've done my first four years of board service in a year and eight months.”
The eight-person board will operate with seven members until it appoints a new District 7 representative. The board will have 60 days after Kirk's resignation date to receive applications and appoint a new member to the vacant seat.
Chair woman Paula Lewis said the board will announce details of the application and interview process at a future meeting.
The board is required to interview each candidate and vote to decide the appointment, according to district board policy. The timing of the board's selection of a candidate would influence whether the appointee would serve until t he school board election in February or until t he school board election in 2021.
The appointee would have to be chosen in time for the board to call for a special election in February 2020. The board would likely make this request in November, if all interviews are completed and a candidate is chosen.
Kirk said he hasn' t heard of any candidates who are interested in taking over his seat because his resignation announcement has just been made. He said he intends to spread the word in his district to help find its next school board representative.
“Getting to sit where I've been allowed to sit, it's been just a front row seat to seeing wonderful things that happen all across our district every day that no one will ever hear about,” Kirk said. “There are seven other people on this board, a nd I know without a shadow of a doubt that they all care about kids in Oklahoma City.”