INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Three more Indian River County residents have applied to fill the vacant seat on the School Board and one has withdrawn from consideration, according to the Governor’s Office.
There are now 15 people vying for Gov. Rick Scott’s appointment to fill the District 2 School Board seat left vacant late last month when then-School Board member Jeff Pegler resigned his seat to take a job in Tampa.
The newest applicants include John Featherstone, Judith Martin, and Ardra Rigby, who ran for the seat in 2013 and lost to Pegler. Martin is a former educator, having worked in the Long Island, N.Y., school system for 33 years, according to her application. Featherstone works as a supervisor at the ParkNGo in Ft. Lauderdale.
Former School District spokeswoman Patty Vasquez has withdrawn her name from consideration, though no explanation was provided in the letter she sent to the Governor’s Office.
The three newest applicants join a dozen others who include:
- former Schools Superintendent Dr. Harry LaCava,
- runner-up in the 2011 School Board election Kimberly Keithahn,
- former Sebastian City Councilwoman Dale Simchick,
- Sebastian Community Development and Airport Director Joe Griffin,
- former School Board candidates Althea McKenzie, Harry Hall and Richard Marini,
- North County Charter School board member Ken Miller,
- Indian River School District teacher Jorge Lugo,
- Salesmen William Brown and Bradley Ward,
- and Realtor Laura Zorc, wife of County Commissioner Tim Zorc
There is no deadline for Gov. Scott to make an appointment and applications are still being taken for consideration.
In the meantime, the School Board has been functioning with four members during its round table discussions, workshops, and regular board meetings.
Anyone interested in filing an application can do so online by going to http://www.flgov.com/appointments/ or calling (850) 717-9243 or emailing appointments@eog.myflorida.com.