The Rainbow District School Board will have 90 days to replace outgoing trustee Tyler Campbell, starting on Jan. 9, the effective date of his resignation.
The school board's remaining eight trustees voted Tuesday to appoint a candidate to replace Campbell, rather than have a byelection, which would cost a minimum of $25,000 according to board chair Doreen Dewar.
Campbell, the City of Greater Sudbury's director of leisure services, announced he would resign as a school board trustee after he faced allegations of a conflict of interest around a proposed soccer dome or artificial turf on school board property.
Only school board trustee Larry Killens voted against appointing Campbell's successor.
Killens said the board should at least consider appointing Anita Gibson, who was the runner-up against Campbell during the 2014 election.
Dewar said Gibson, who continues to be banned from certain school board property after she and her husband recorded board meetings in 2012, is welcome to apply for the position, along with anyone else in the community who supports public education.
“The more the better,” Dewar said. “We would love to see a good interest in the position.”
Chantelle Gorham, a Rainbow District School Board parent who filed a freedom of information request that resulted in the allegations against Campbell, said she and her husband would personally pay $5,000 to help cover the costs of a byelection.
“Out of fairness to the 43 per cent of constituents in our area that voted for the runner up – an option for replacement according to the ministry guidelines, yet one they also refuse – we are willing to pay the $5,000 to cover the expense and to ensure our voices aren't stifled yet again in this process,” she said in an email to Sudbury.com.
But Dewar said the remaining trustees, who were all democratically elected, have already voted to move forward with an appointment instead.
Dewar said the Rainbow Board will advertise the position in the new year, and reserves the right to share the names of the applicants with the public.
