Merced City Schools board will appoint applicant to vacant seat

The Merced City School District governing board will begin accepting applications to appoint a new Area 1 trustee after Darrell Cherf resigned earlier this month.

Cherf, 52, resigned during the board’s April 5 meeting, saying only that it was for “personal reasons.” He served on the board for 15 years.

The board voted in a special meeting Thursday to make a provisional appointment to fill the seat.

To qualify, applicants must be 18 years old, live in trustee Area 1 and be a registered voter. District 1 represents a large area of northeast Merced, with the majority of its territory north of Bear Creek and east of G Street. A map of the district can be found on the board’s website.

An online application will be available through the Merced City School District’s website next week. The application will require a letter of interest, resume, responses to four questions and names and contact information for three references who also live in Area 1. All information on the application will become public once it is turned in.

The application must be completed and turned in to the Merced City School District office, at 444 W. 23rd St., by 4 p.m. May 10.

Candidates will be interviewed orally before the school board during a special meeting at 6 p.m. on May 24 in the district’s board room. Interviews will be held during open session.

The seat will be up for election again in November.

Area 1 stretches across much of northeast Merced, from Snelling Road to Bear Creek and from Highway 59 to La Paloma Road.

Board members serve four-year terms, and elections alternate every two years so that the entire board is not up for election at the same time.

The Merced City School District serves 11,000 students in 14 elementary schools and four middle schools.

This story was originally published April 14, 2016 at 7:01 PM with the headline "Merced City Schools board will appoint applicant to vacant seat."