At her final regular meeting, school board members lavished Beverley Clark with praise.

While Clark will stay on through Aug. 14, Tuesday was her last regular meeting after 9 1/2 years on the board. One after another, board members and Supt. Del Burns praised Clark for her service.

"You have always sought consensus where possible, but you have also always held to your vision of what our schools and school system should aspire to become," said school board chairman Kevin Hill as he read from a letter written by the board members to Clark. "That clarity has benefitted our board, our schools, and our children well. It is a voice that will be missed."

I doubt it's going to be a surprise to anyone that Venita Peyton was not among the favorites on Wednesday to fill Rosa Gill's seat on the school board.

As noted in today's article by Ray Martin, Keith Sutton was the board's choice. He was the clear favorite in all three written ballots.

On the first ballot, board members were asked to pick four people on a weighted system with four points for the top choice, three points for the second choice and so on.

Keith Sutton is your newest Wake County school board member.

The school board moved so quickly through the interview process today that the vote wasn't held off until tomorrow. Board members tapped Sutton, legislative affairs program manager for the N.C. Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, for the District 4 vacancy in Southeast Raleigh.

Sutton will serve out Rosa Gill's term through November 2011. Whether he runs for a full four-year term remains to be seen.

UPDATE

For those who want one-stop shopping, click here for Sutton's application.

For what could be the only time in his/her life, the new school board member for District 4 could see what it's like to speak to board members while under the clock.

Board members agreed Tuesday to give each of the nine applicants 30 minutes to answer questions at today's meeting. The plan is to put the applicants on the same timer in the board room that measures how long people have to speak during public comment sessions.

That was one of the things that came up during a fairly lengthy discussion about the ground rules that would be used during the interview and selection process.

UPDATE: INTERVIEW SCHEDULE AT END OF POST

The process for filling Beverley Clark's seat on the school board isn't quite as clear cut.

Wake has posted information on its web site on what should be included in the applications before the Aug. 27 deadline. But the district won't officially seek applications until after Clark steps down Aug. 12.

The delayed resignation will allow Clark to participate this week in the vote to fill Rosa Gill's vacant seat.

The person who eventually takes Clark's seat will finish out her term, which expires November 2011. Clark's "Central Raleigh" Distict 6 includes North Hills and the Ridge Road area inside the Beltline.

Barring any holdups, the school board should decide this week who will take Rosa Gill's vacant seat.

The plan is to meet from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday to interview all nine people who want to fill the District 4 opening caused by Gill's appointment to the state House. The board is slated to meet from 9 a.m. to noon on Thursday to make a final selection.

The new board member would be sworn in on Aug. 18 and finish out Gill's term, which expires November 2011.

(The applications for all nine candidates are listed in this post.)

Will Beverley Clark became the next school board member to give up her seat?

Rumors are swirling that Clark will resign her seat in August, allowing her to stay on for a little while longer to vote on the applicants for Rosa Gill's vacant seat. Clark has served the longest of any of the board members. She was first elected in 1999.

Clark was non-committal about her intentions.

Lynette Aytch, a director in the state's Smart Start program, became the fourth person to apply for the vacant seat on the school board.

In the application submitted today, Aytch said her four policy priorities would be high quality preschool programs, specialized services for students with disabilities and special learning needs, classroom diversity and inclusion and community and families partnerships.

"The public school system has a social and educational responsibility to advance policy that promotes and sustains classroom diversity and inclusion," Aytch said in her application.

Susana Dancy, parent of two Carrboro High students and realtor, filed to run for a spot on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board today.

Dancy, who has spoken out for arts programs and academic equity at the relatively new Carrboro High, is the seventh candidate in the race. 

There are three open seats on the board this year.

The last day to file is tomorrow by noon.

East Chapel Hill High parent Christine Lee filed for school board elections today.

She joins five other candidates, including incumbent Greg McElveen, who are looking to fill three open seats on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board.

Lee has two kids at East Chapel Hill High and another who just graduated from the school. She has served on school improvement teams at Smith Middle and district-wide. She was also on the committee for high school redistricting a few years ago.