GF board names DeMeyer to fill vacant seat

The Green Forest School Board used a special-called meeting to temporarily fill a vacant seat.

The board met Thursday, Jan. 5 for a time-sensitive student expulsion hearing, and took advantage of the meeting to fill the Zone 1 seat recently vacated by Jerry King.

King, a new member of the Carroll County Quorum Court, resigned his school board position in December and the board voted 6-0 to have Zone 1 resident Jodie DeMeyer fill the seat in an interim basis.

DeMeyer will serve the remainder of King’s term, which expires in May.

“Our board’s view was to appoint someone who’s not interested in running in the May election,” Green Forest Superintendent Matt Summers said. “If they appointed somebody that was wanting that seat long term, then it was like they were giving their blessing, or their recommendation and the voters need to be deciding that position.”

Summers said DeMeyer will take her oath of office and be seated in time for the board’s regular monthly meeting on Monday, Jan. 16.

The board also used the meeting to unanimously approve taking advantage of new interest rates to refinance a Certificate of Deposit the district has with Anstaff Bank.

“We received a phone call from Anstaff Bank over Christmas break about interest rates rising,” Summers said. “We receive normally a flat 1 percent [in interest] on all accounts deposited …. I got a call that due to rising interest rates, they were going to jump that to 2.25 percent and that was very exciting news because those accounts fluctuate because we’re using them all the time.”

That got Summers to think about the district’s CD.

“We have that [CD] that’s a little over $1.5 million and it’s locked in for 13 months,” he said. “Those interest rates are significantly higher, and we might get penalized, but it would be a finically better decision to change that to six months and have it come due at the same time. … The bank agreed.

“And so, our interest rate jumped from 1.95 percent to 4.25 percent. Yes, we do have penalties in that, but even with those penalties taken out, we’re still going to make a little over $28,000 more in interest than we would have before. And the board.

“That was a pretty easy decision and I think that’s being good stewards with the district funds.”

The board also unanimously approved the expulsion of a high school student for the remainder of the school year for a “persistent disregard of school rules,” Summers said.

“For the safety and security of our school and all, the board did follow through with that,” Summers said. “[An expulsion] is the toughest thing I ask the board to do, but it was warranted by the evidence and the vote.”