Board meets Aug. 10 to talk about filling empty seat until Nov. 8 vote

By John McLoone

The Hastings School Board last Wednesday night approved a resolution accepting the resignation of Mike Reis.

Reis, who was elected last November and seated on the board in January, resigned by email July 18, sending the following message to board members: “Effective immediately, (Monday) July 18, 2022 at 7:15 PM CST, I resign from my Hastings (MN) District 200 School Board position.”

The resolution the board unanimously passed at the meeting states the “vacancy must be filled by board appointment at a regular or special meeting and if the appointment becomes effective, it shall continue until an election is held.”

The resolution states that the “Board is required to fill the vacancy by appointment.”

The board will discuss filling that vacancy at a meeting set for Wednesday, Aug. 10 at 6 p.m. in the Hastings Middle School Media Center, Superintendent Robert McDowell said.

“The School Board intends to adopt a resolution in the future that outlines the process in which the

See SPECIAL ELECTION, Page 3 School Board will choose an appointee until a special election is held to replace the vacancy created by the resignation of Board Member Mike Reis,” the resolution states.

That special election will be held with the Nov. 8 general election. The board also passed a resolution opening up the filing for candidates for the board seat. As reported in the Journal last week, affidavits of candidacy could be filed in the district office as of Aug. 2. The filing period closes Aug. 16 at 5 p.m.

Candidates must be at least 21 years of age and a resident of the school district for at least 30 days prior to the special election.

There was no other mention of the Reis resignation during the meeting, except to note it at the start of the meeting when the roll was called.