A vacancy on the Howell Public Schools Board of Education has been filled by someone familiar with the position.
During a special Board of Education meeting on Friday, the board voted to appoint Brent Earl to fill the vacancy created when Marcus Wilcox, without explanation, resigned earlier this month. Earl will serve the remainder of Wilcox’s term, which expires Dec. 31, 2024. Following Earl’s selection, he was administered the Oath of Office and joined the Board of Education at the board table for the remainder of the special meeting.
According to a release from the district, Earl resigned his seat on the board prior to the application deadline, and then applied to fill the seat vacated by Wilcox’s resignation. Earl’s term on the board was to end on Dec. 31, 2022, after failing to win re-election on November 8. Since Earl’s term was set to end, the Board of Education says it will not fill the vacancy.
Earl was among nine candidates who met the criteria to apply to fill the vacant board seat. The others were; Joseph Cartwright, Stephen Dault, Kevin De Ceuninck, Stacy Farrell, Jamison Hardy, Lawrence Keister, Randall Mattson and Tanya Zirkle.
As part of the application process, each candidate had to file a letter of interest and answer qualifying questions. During Friday’s Special Board of Education meeting, each candidate made a brief statement and responded to questions from the board. Following the statements and questions, each board member ranked their top candidates to narrow the field of candidates to three. The board then discussed the top three candidates and once again ranked the candidates. Earl received the highest ranking, leading to a motion to appointment him to the board.
Earl, an alumnus of the district, has served on the Howell Public Schools Board of Education since 2014. Three of his four children have graduated from Howell High School while the fourth is currently attending school in the district.
