UPDATED: Special D135 Meeting Called After Carmody Resigned

Updated, 4:45 p.m. Friday

A special meeting was called Friday afternoon by board members Ann Gentile, Tina Zekich and Tom Cunningham. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Orland School District 135 administration center, 15100 94th Ave.

Gentile, Cunningham and Zekich were not immediately available for comment.

Board member Joe LaMargo wrote in an email that the meeting is to select a new board member.

He described the meeting proposal as "unwarranted and unnecessary" and a "usurpation" of the new board's responsibilities. Instead of the meeting, LaMargo proposed an invitation for qualified people interested in the open seat to interview with board members.

He continued:

"The identity of this person has not been shared with the Orland School District 135 community, or for that matter, it has not even been shared with the entire current Board of Education.  

For outgoing board members to make any significant decisions following the election of a new board, especially one which has direct and significant long-term effects on the operation of the new board, is highly questionable and in my opinion, unethical.  

I call upon the outgoing board members to be reasonable and to remain focused on the interests of the residents of Orland School District 135 and not on any personal or political agendas." 

Original Post, 3:44 p.m. Thursday with an update at 9:45 a.m. Friday

The Orland School District 135 Board of Education president has resigned.

John Carmody, who served as board president since 2011, submitted a letter Thursday to the district in care of board secretary Tina Zekich, saying that he is resigning from the board “effective immediately.

Carmody wrote in the letter that his residency is no longer compliant with “school code.”

“It was a pleasure to serve with you on the board and to serve the Orland Community,” Carmody wrote in the letter. “I wish all the young people who passed through the doors of Orland 135 during and after our time of service happiness and success in their chosen life paths.”

Messages left for Carmody were not returned as of Friday morning.

Micahel Carroll, Laura Berry, Michael Maratea and Sandra Kulak, the four new incoming board members who , will be installed at a special meeting 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 6 at Center School.

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