School Board Lays Out Timeline for Replacing Rykken

The St. Louis Park School Board hopes to have a new member seated exactly two months to the day after announced her resignation.

Rykken, who joined the board in 2008, announced on Aug. 22 that she would be . On Monday, the board formally certified a vacancy and laid out a timeline that would have a new member seated at the Oct. 22 meeting.

Applications will be accepted through Oct. 5 at 4 p.m. Applicants must meet the same requirements as regular school board candidates: United State citizen over 21 years old; resident of Minnesota for 30 days; and resident of the district.  Applicants are asked to send letters of interest with the following information:

• Years of residency in the district
• Connection to the district
• Interest in public education
• Resume or qualifications

Applications will be accepted by board chair Jim Yarosh, c/o Cynthia Bennett, 6425 West 33rd St., St. Louis Park, MN, 55426.

For those who want more information about what serving on the board entails, an informational session will be held later this month. A date and time has not been announced.

Interested candidates are also encouraged to contact any current board member with questions.

After the application deadline on Oct. 5 passes, the board will conduct interviews on Oct. 15 and possibly Oct. 16, with a decision expected to come one of those two days.

Whoever is chosen will serve until the next school board election in November 2013. The remaining two years of Rykken’s term will be on the ballot. Three other four-year seats will also be up for grabs.