Hammond school board vice president Cindy Murphy (left) swears in Tevonne Ellis
Tevonne Ellis gets the nod to fill Hammond school board vacancy
Contributed By: The 411 News
Will serve out the remaining 3 months in former board president's term
Eleven Hammond residents applied to fill the At-Large vacancy on the School City of Hammond Board of Trustees, a position previously held by Lisa Miller. Miller was the school board president when she resigned in August.
At Tuesday night’s Special School Board meeting called to interview candidates and fill the vacancy, Tevonne Ellis was selected from the eight who appeared.
Ellis will serve out the remaining 3 months in Miller’s term. Miller was not seeking re-election in November’s General Election.
With 4 board members voting there was a potential for a deadlock, but that was averted when a unanimous majority for Ellis came in the third round.
Board vice president Cindy Murphy had instructed the board, “In the event of an impasse, the decision will be made by a judge from the Lake County District Court.”
“We don’t want that to happen,” said board member Carlotta Blake-King. “We must make a decision tonight.” The decider would have been Circuit Court Judge Marissa J. McDermott.
Ellis works for Claretrian Associates and sits on the board of the nonprofit community development corporation with a focus on affordable housing in South Chicago.
Ellis has been a Hammond resident for 10 years and has a daughter in the school district.
Six candidates are on the November 5 General Election ballot for the four-year terms of the two At-Large board positions. Current school board vice president Lucinda (Cindy) Murphy is on the ballot along with Mellissa Guerra, Lissette Montanez, Alberto (Beto) Ochoa, Matthew A. Richardson, and Evangeline L. Stanford.
Story Posted:09/25/2024
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