Scott Glover's unexpected resignation from the Higley Unified School District Governing Board last week has set in motion a process that will determine who fills the remainder of his term through the end of 2028.
The district is accepting applications from residents interested in being appointed to the five-member board after Glover resigned July 20. His term was scheduled to expire Dec. 31, 2028.
Glover said a long-planned move overseas happened sooner than expected.
"My wife and I retired last year, our kids are both graduated from university, we sold our house, downsized and are living out our dream to move to Portugal," Glover said. "It happened faster than we anticipated, but we are happy and at peace knowing we gave our all for this community. We wish everyone the best."
Glover and his wife worked as teachers in the Gilbert Public Schools district, but they lived in the Higley district, allowing Glover to seek election to the board.
Glover also said he had intended to complete his term after being elected in 2024 but acknowledged he had become discouraged after district voters rejected the maintenance and operations override last fall.
Board President Amanda Wade said she was disappointed to lose a longtime colleague.
"I'm disappointed and saddened in that we need folks who support public ed, and Scott is and has always been a huge supporter of public ed, but I wish him well and what his next endeavors are," Wade said.
Under the timeline adopted by the district, applications opened July 24 and will close at 11:59 p.m. Aug. 2.
District staff will compile the applications before they are posted publicly Aug. 4. Community members then will have until Aug. 9 to review applicants' responses and complete a survey ranking their top three choices.
The governing board plans to meet Aug. 11 to select three nominees whose names will be forwarded to the Maricopa County School Superintendent. State law gives the county superintendent the authority to appoint one of those nominees to fill the vacancy or choose one of her own.
Wade said the board intentionally built public input into the process. She said her hope is that the board's recommendations will reflect community preferences.
"It will be my intent ... once we have the top three names, those are the three names we recommend," Wade said.
Wade also urged the county to weigh the community's participation when making the final appointment.
"Ultimately, I would like very much for this process of our community coming together to fill Scott's position, to have the county recognize the efforts that we are doing to try to include the community feedback in that this seat belongs to the voters of the Higley Unified School District," she said.
The vacancy comes at a significant time for the district. Two current board members, Wade and Anna Van Hoek, are on the November ballot seeking re-election, while the district continues to grapple with financial challenges following the failure of the override election.
A third board candidate is on the November ballot, newcomer Michelle Morris.
The Aug. 11 meeting is expected to determine which three applicants for Glover's seat advance to the county superintendent for consideration. The successful appointee will serve the remainder of Glover's unexpired term through the end of 2028.
Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines. Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him on X at @sp_blodgett.
Meet Tom Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.
Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.
Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism.
Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.
Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).
Higley Unified School District,
Scott Glover,
Higley Governing Board,
Amanda Wade,
school board vacancy,
Maricopa County School Superintendent,
Governing Board appointment,
HUSD board election,
community feedback,
school board applications``
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