Gannon reviewing school board vacancy situation

Cannon County Executive Mike Gannon said Wednesday he is consulting with the county attorney to determine when the county commission will fill a vacancy on the Cannon County Board of Education.

Shelley Walkup vacated the District 5 seat on the school board when she moved outside of the district.

Walkup said at the Sept. 14 meeting of the school board that she lives on Knox Ridge Road, which is in District 4.

As of last Friday, Cannon County Election Office records listed Walkup's address as 75 Tanglewood Drive, not an address on Knox Ridge Road she said she lived at during the meeting.

Woodbury Water Department records show that Walkup began water service at 204 Knox Ridge Road on Sept. 19, 2016. Walkup ended service at the Tanglewood Road address on March 1, 2017.

By state law, a vacancy is created on a school board when a member moves outside of the district in which he or she was elected to serve.

In addition, County Attorney Mike Corley said a person who moves from their district is no longer eligible to serve. The same law applies to county commissioners.

State law also empowers the county commission to fill a vacant seat until the next election. In the case of the District 5 seat, that will be in August of next year during the County General Election.

Gannon said he has been asked to consider calling a special session of the county commission on Oct. 3 to fill the vacancy. The next regular meeting of the commission is Oct. 14. The next regular meeting of the school board is Oct. 12.

Gannon said he also needs to consult with Corley and the state election office to see if a letter of resignation is needed from an officeholder to make a vacancy official. State law does not require notification of a vacancy before a commission can act to fill a seat, although Walkup did state at a public meeting she no longer lived within District 5.