The board can appoint ANYONE THEY WANT to a vacated position. It does not have to be the next person in line with the highest votes at election time, though some do that.
Ernie was (in my opinion) wrong to resign after being elected by the people. He should have sat out his term ......but, that is his choice and his business.

Layoffs are in proportion to the number of school employees so, some districts laid off more because they have more employees. However, Lackawanna's employee numbers are WAY TOO HIGH for the number of students they serve. PERIOD. There should have been 2 administrators cut, 5 teachers and 8 aides, 2 secretaries and then of course another 4-5 maintenance. Layoffs are long overdue and shame on all board members over the years that just kept giving jobs away! These unfortunate people really need their jobs.That is only the start. This should be reviewed again in the Spring 2011 with more layoffs given the state of the economy. We shall see what the board minutes show as soon as they are posted...sure takes a LONG TIME for these minutes to be posted!!!!

Positions can be budgeted for but the district is NOT HELD TO filling and maintaining those positions. The board has to have flexibility to make sound decisons as information becomes available and the district's financial circumstances change.

I wonder how long Sam Masry will stay as Business Manager? Why can't the district find a qualified replacement?