Board appoints Jim Coursey to fill Area 4 vacancy after ballot vote

The Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District Board of Education voted by paper ballot Dec. 2 to appoint Jim Coursey to the Area 4 board seat, filling a vacancy created earlier this year.

Board President Sheila Hibner described the selection process at the start of the meeting: each candidate would be given three minutes to speak, and the board would use repeated ballots until a candidate received four votes. After the round of presentations, the board held a paper-ballot selection. The board announced that Coursey received six votes to one and congratulated him on the appointment.

The appointment followed candidate presentations from Anna Fostick, Janelle Dethridge, Larissa Kingston and Jim Coursey. Coursey spoke about moving to Middleton for the schools and his 30-year career consulting for health and human services, including state-level roles; he told the board he wanted to “help continue to ensure that other students, other families … are able to take full advantage of what all of the schools have to offer.”

Board members said they had reviewed written letters of interest and candidate responses before the meeting and that they randomly drew speaking order for the public presentations. Cheryl (staff member, ballot administrator) distributed paper ballots; the board conducted one or more rounds until a candidate received a majority of votes (four required). The board then announced the result and welcomed Coursey.

The board did not take a separate recorded roll-call tally tying specific votes to named members in the public record; the chair reported the numerical outcome. Coursey will occupy the Area 4 seat until the next election or as required by district policy.

Officials present during the appointment process included Superintendent Dana Minogue and other district administrators; the board thanked all candidates for their willingness to serve and encouraged continued community engagement.

The board moved on to other agenda business following the announcement. No additional formal direction to staff related to onboarding the appointee was recorded on the minutes included in the meeting transcript.

Votes at a glance • Area 4 appointment (paper ballot): Jim Coursey — 6 votes; other candidates — 1 vote divided among remaining choices; outcome: appointed.

Context: The appointment was an internal board fill of an open Area 4 seat. Board members said they had reviewed candidate materials in advance and used a paper-ballot process at the meeting to select the winner.