Last Updated: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 10:58 AM CDT
Clark leaves open seat on school board
by Luke Laggis - Daily News City Editor - llaggis@rhinelanderdailynews.com
The Rhinelander School District Board of Education is beginning the process of filling a vacancy left by Julie Clark, who submitted a letter of resignation earlier this month.
Clark resigned from the board, on which she served four and a half years, due to personal obligations.
“I just don't have enough time to do everything I need to do, so I had to reevaluate,” Clark said. “It was a difficult decision to make.”
Clark said the expectations of her job - she is manager of surgical specialties at the Marshfield Clinic in Minocqua - and the decision to further her education online through Franklin University have left her short of the time it takes to be an effective member of the school board. She said she felt like she was juggling too much and thought it was the right time to allow someone else the opportunity to serve the district.
Clark originally joined the school board when her two children were in high school.
“I wanted to be able to be a part of that process,” she said.
She said people often don't realize how the education process works and what factors play roles in the decisions the board makes. People sometimes criticize the board's decisions without having any understanding of how they were made. Financial decisions are hard, she said. People see money going to one program and wonder why not another, but state and federal funds often come with mandates on how the money can be used.
“To me, it was a huge learning process. It's a very big process and I think a lot of people do not understand,” she said.
Clark said she always tried to bring a different perspective to the issues at hand and found it rewarding to have an impact on the schools.
“We need to always have the perspective that we need to focus on all the students in the schools,” she said.
The diversity on the current board is good, she said, because different perspectives are represented and issues are examined from different viewpoints.
“We can rest assured the board will continue to make good decisions,” Clark said.
District Superintendent Roger Erdahl said he and the board are sorry to see Clark step down, but everyone understands her other commitments and is appreciative of the time and the way she served on the board.
“Julie was a very steady force on our school board, very thoughtful and very reflective,” Erdahl said. “It's going to be a major loss for our board.”
The board decided at its Monday night meeting that it would review candidates at its Nov. 26 meeting, with an appointment expected that same night. Candidates who file the required papers will have the opportunity to make a statement on their own behalf and to
have a qualified elector from the district make a statement.
Board members will vote on candidates by signed ballot, with the first candidate receiving a majority of the board's votes earning the vacant seat.
Anyone interested in the seat can pick up candidacy papers at the superintendent's office on the second floor at the high school.
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