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Dixon USD 170 board elects president, deadlocks on vice president; tables vote to May 21
Summary
Linda Wagner was elected board president; the vice president vote resulted in tie ballots across rounds. Counsel advised a process to add an off-site member if she is at work; the board voted to table the vice president election until May 21 and appointed a secretary and a president pro tem.
At its organizational meeting, the Dixon Unit School District 170 Board of Education elected Linda Wagner as president but failed to elect a vice president after multiple ballots produced no majority. Counsel advised procedures for adding a remote participant who is at work under board policy and to confirm compliance with the Open Meetings Act; the board then voted to table the vice president election until its May 21 meeting.
Nominations opened for president; with no further nominees, the board took a roll-call vote for Linda Wagner and recorded affirmative votes. Following that, nominations for vice president produced competing candidates, primarily Brandon Rogers and John Wadsworth. Multiple rounds of roll-call votes produced split results and no candidate achieved a majority of votes cast.
Board counsel Tim Zollinger advised the board on the record about the Open Meetings Act concern when a member would join by phone. The board explained its policy allows remote participation if a member is detained at work or ill; the presiding officer said the district must confirm the remote participant is at work and announce the time she will join, then vote to add that member to the meeting before including her vote. The board sought to contact Kathleen Schafer, who was at another meeting, to determine whether she could join and whether she met the board policy criteria for remote participation.
Because the tie persisted and a potentially eligible remote member was not immediately available, the board voted to table the vice president election until its May 21 meeting. The motion to table passed on recorded roll call.
While the vice president contest remained unresolved, the board appointed a president pro tem (Missus Eppin) to preside for the officer election and nominated and elected Melissa as secretary by roll call. The board also confirmed the regular meeting dates for the 2025–26 school year and announced a board retreat scheduled for July 21 at Manchusag Grasslands (public notice to be posted), which the presiding officer said would be open to the public and provide breakfast and lunch.
Board discussion during the officer nominations included remarks about the value of stability during the upcoming superintendent transition, and comments favoring periodic rotation in officer positions to bring fresh perspectives. Several members spoke in support of continuity; others said rotating officers is healthy for governance. No formal policy change on officer term limits was proposed or adopted.
