District 211 to start interviews for board vacancy

Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 has received eight applications for the board post left vacant earlier this month by the death of board member Theresa Tracy.

The board will begin reviewing applicants and has scheduled special meetings Oct. 4 and Oct. 7 to interview potential board members.

The meetings will begin in open session, then close to the public for the interviews. Employment and appointment matters are topics for which state law allows closed meetings.

Board President Robert LeFevre said the goal is to appoint a new member by the board's Oct. 14 meeting. State law requires the board to fill the vacancy by Oct. 18. District 211 has a board meeting scheduled for Thursday when they'll likely adopt the 2010 budget, among other matters.

A former education reporter for the Chicago Tribune who covered District 211, Tracy also worked for the University of Illinois Extension and most recently at the Illinois Students Assistant Commission.

Tracy joined the board in March 2009, replacing board member Susan Kenley-Rupnow who died at the age of 58 following a battle with cancer.

This year's appointment and interview process is identical to what District 211 went through when replacing Kenley-Rupnow, LeFevre said.

Tracy, 44 when she died Sept. 3, took over Kenley-Rupnow's term which expires in April and will be up for election next year. The terms of board members George Brandt, Lynn Davis and Debra Strauss are also up for election in April.