Merced school board member resigns

A 15-year board member of the Merced City School District abruptly resigned this week, meaning three of the five seats will be up for election this fall.

Darrell Cherf, 52, declined to explain his resignation, which was announced at the board’s meeting Tuesday evening, other than to say it was for personal reasons. He said he will continue to teach math at Merced High School.

“It was an amazing learning experience,” he said of his time on the board. “I felt like I grew in the process a lot professionally.”

The board has 60 days to replace Cherf by appointing a new member, according to Doug Collins, assistant superintendent for personnel services for the district.

Potential candidates may submit letters of interest to the district. The board will make a selection, taking public input into consideration, Collins said.

The district’s charter requires whoever is selected to run for the office in this November’s election, Collins said. He or she then would run again in November 2018, when Cherf’s seat would have been up.

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 seats currently held by Susan Walsh and Gene Stamm are scheduled to go before voters this fall. Adam Cox and Jessica Kazakos will face election in 2018.

The Merced City School District serves nearly 11,000 students in 14 elementary schools and four middle schools, according to its website.

During his tenure, Cherf noted that the Merced City School District passed two school bonds, and added gym and educational spaces in many campuses around the district.

The district also added Joe Stefani Elementary School and, most recently, Rivera Elementary School, which opened at the beginning of the school year in an attempt alleviate crowding.

Cherf said those changes in the area were because of staff, faculty, administrators and others who supported the district’s effort. “I was just glad to be a part of it,” he said.

In 2014, board members decided to ease overcrowding in the city’s middle schools by moving sixth-grade students to elementary schools. Last year, the board approved controversial boundary changes they said were necessary to keep class sizes balanced across campuses.

Collins said Cherf is highly regarded by employees of the district.

“Darrell’s a professional in every sense of the word,” Collins said. “He’s easy to talk to. Always listening.”

This story was originally published April 6, 2016 at 5:57 PM with the headline "Merced school board member resigns."