Pekin School Board President Resigns

PEKIN- The President of the Pekin School Board has tenured his resignation from the board, effective May 1. Steve Copeland, who has served on the board for the past 12 years will be moving out of his director district, prompting the resignation, according to Superintendent Dave Harper.

“He will be building a house outside of Hedrick, outside of his [director] district,” Harper said.

Harper confirmed that the board is moving forward with a process to appoint a new board member. The board must appoint a new board member or call for a special election by May 31, otherwise the board will be required to hold a special election for the vacancy.

“The board will appoint somebody in May,” Harper said.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Pekin School Board will be May 13. At that meeting, the board will make the appointment. Harper advised that residents who are interested in serving on the board should submit a brief letter indicating their interest to business manager Cherie Westendorf prior to the meeting. In order to be eligible to serve, residents must live in Pekin School Board Director District 1.

“It’s really just the town of Hedrick,” Harper said.

For more on this story and others, catch the April 17 edition of the News-Review.