Board of Education accepts member’s resignation; announces seat vacancy

In a 61 minute special session on Tuesday evening, the Guthrie Board of Education accepted the resignation of Terry Pennington who represented ward number two for approximately the past five years. Pennington announced his intent to resign at a board meeting in August and delivered the resignation to the board clerk on September 10.

“I got some severe medical issues that have come up. I can no longer sit here and take pain pills. These are medical conditions I contracted in service and I can’t fight them much longer so I’m gonna (sic) have to take some other actions to deal with them,” Pennington said during the August 13 meeting. Related article: Guthrie school board member announces upcoming resignation

Superintendent Dr. Mike Simpson said, “I can certainly appreciate his willingness to place his family first and I will keep them in my prayers.”

Since Pennington served less than half of his term, an election is required to fill the remainder of the term which runs through 2021.

The filing period for the seat is in early December with an election in April. If more than two candidates file, an election would occur in February, with a run-off in April.

The current board members have 60 days to appoint an eligible citizen to fill the seat until the election.

To view the boundary click here, or see the map at the bottom of this article. The ward two boundary is shown in the green.

In order to be eligible, the candidate must be a high school graduate (or G.E.D. equivalent), have resided in ward number two for at least six months, have been registered to vote at the address within the ward for at least six months, possess no felony convictions within the last fifteen years and not be related to any employee of Guthrie Public Schools within the second degree.

Interested parties who possess the qualifications should contact Jana Frey, Board Clerk, for an application. Applications will be accepted until Monday, October 8, 2018 at 4:45 p.m.