By MaryHelen Swanson
Donna Setter has been serving the families of North Branch Area School District #138 for 20 years.
On Jan. 26, she resigned her position on the school board.

At a work session last Thursday, the school board made plans to fill the vacant position, but not before Chairwoman Kim Salo had many kind words to say about Setter.
Salo said Setter has been an asset to the school board, and that her “absolute thoroughness”  and “immense wisdom” will be missed.

Salo noted that Setter had a superb memory for the details of the past 20 years on the board.

Salo said Setter will be an enormous loss to the school district and for the benefit of the board members read Setter’s own words on her resignation.
Setter said thank you and that she’d miss not being on the board, but that resigning was the right thing for her.

Above: Donna Setter has resigned after serving the NB school district for 20 on the school board. File photo

She wrote that she knows the administration and board have big challenges ahead and she wished them all the best in meeting those challenges.

“I will continue to follow our district and wish nothing but the best for all concerned,” she wrote.

To the board members, she said, “I only ask that you remember you represent all the children in our district and base your decisions on what is best for the majority,” and continued saying, “unfortunately those that need to be heard, most often are the ones we never hear from.”

Salo said she learned a lot from Setter working with her on the board for the 12 years that she (Salo) has been  a member.

The board decided that it would be difficult to place a new member on the board in the middle of budgeting and has set up a timeline that should bring a new member on board by April.

Setter’s position would have been up for re-election this coming November so the replacement will be short-term.

Applications for the vacant position will be available through the district beginning Feb. 9 with the deadline to apply being Feb. 28. The school board will screen applicants on March 4, conduct interviews on March 11 and announce their choice at a March 18 meeting.

The person who is chosen is expected to begin serving on the board at the regular school board meeting April 8.

By then the school board will have acted on the preliminary budget for 2010-2011.

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