The removal of three school board members is a rare event and what happens afterward may be rarer still.

With the Rock Hill school board lawsuit complete, thoughts now turn to who will replace them and how the replacements will get their new positions. The answer may depend on how state law is interpreted - and who is doing the interpreting.

Rick Dickinson, general counsel for the Ohio School Boards Association, said the answer is &#8221not simple.“

&#8221When the board loses a member, (according to Ohio Revised Code) the remaining members appoint the person to replace that member,“ Dickinson said.

Š &#8221Because the majority of the board was removed, there are only two members remaining.

An Attorney General's Office opinion last year (in the Madison-Plains school district lawsuit) was that the one remaining board member there had no authority to fill vacancies. If you extrapolate that, you might reasonably say that would apply to two board members as well. But they can do whatever they want to do until someone challenges them.“

According to state law, the new appointments must be made at a school board meeting. Dickinson said state law allows such a vacancy to be filled

10 days after the board member's removal and must be done within 30 days.

If the board vacancies are not filled within 30 days, the task falls to Lawrence County Probate Judge David Payne.

Payne said he is not sure if the two remaining board members, Troy Hardy and Jackie Harris, will fill the vacancies or if they will turn the matter over to him. Payne said he has not had to appoint a school board member in his 12 years as probate judge, &#8221although the issue has come up before with township trustees,“ he said.

Payne said such appointments are challenging in that, &#8221You try to find qualified individuals you hope will focus on the betterment of the school district and the children.“

Lawrence County Board of Elections Director Mary Wipert said the person appointed to replace Jenkins will serve until the beginning of the year when that seat will be filled by the candidate who is elected in November. Jenkins is a candidate and could win her seat again in spite of the lawsuit verdict. As for the seats occupied by Johnson and Sites, those two appointees will serve until the next election for school board in 2007.

As for Jenkins, Lavetta Sites and Paul R. Johnson, who lost their fight to keep their seats, their attorney, Steve Rodeheffer said it is doubtful any of the three will file an appeal.

&#8221Frankly, the rewards of serving as a school board member may not be great enough to justify going further,“ he said. &#8221Obviously, we are deeply disappointed with the jury's decision. The board members felt they were acting in the best interest of the school system when they pursued their course of action. The board members have received a number of phone calls from well wishers and people who continue to support them.“