Templeton school board to begin evaluating candidates for vacancy 

The Templeton Unified School District has two positions to fill heading into the end of the 2023-24 school year, including its superintendent and a school board seat.

Starting March 8, the district will begin vetting candidates to replace that latter role.

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• Photo Courtesy Of Templeton Unified School District
• DECISIONS DECISIONS The Templeton Unified School District aims to interview all school board candidates by March 21 to fill its vacant position.

"The board of trustees of the Templeton Unified School District is actively seeking applicants who reside within the boundaries of the district for appointment to fill a vacancy on the board," a letter from Executive Assistant to the Superintendent Leslie Bogart said. Completed applications must be returned to the district office by noon on March 8.

This vacancy comes after former trustee Mendi Swan announced in early February that she would resign from her role effective March 1.

The board hopes to avoid having as many meetings as possible with the vacant seat as it begins to hold special meetings—including one on March 6—to find a replacement for departing Superintendent Aaron Asplund.

He announced on Feb. 22 that he would be leaving following the end of the school year to pursue a position with the SLO County Office of Education.

The district didn't respond to New Times' request for comment. At least one board member applicant—Templeton resident Matt Allison, who has run for the school board before in 2022—announced on Facebook that he would be applying for the position.

"With a passion for education and commitment to our community, I aim to advocate for student success, reputable opportunities, and transparent governance," Allison's statement read.

The process is slightly different than the last time Allison vied for a seat on the district's board,

"This is territory we are not super familiar with as this does not happen often, especially for us," Asplund said at the Feb. 14 meeting, where he explained to the board the two options it had for replacing Swan, appointment or special election.

Asplund explained that the appointment option made more sense for the district, given that Swan was on an expiring term that would be up in November regardless. Through this process, the board would have around a month or so to conduct a call for applicants before reviewing, interviewing, and appointing someone—likely in April.

Asplund said that residents could file a petition and force the district to hold a special election if they did not like the choice.

Atascadero resident Krista Stewart spoke during public comment at the meeting and encouraged the board to choose the special election option.

She explained that it would be easier for the board to avoid a situation similar to what happened in the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District with current school district board member Kenney Enney. Enney was appointed to fill a role on Paso's school board, but was petitioned against by the public, which forced the school district to pay for a costly special election in early 2023.

Templeton board member Jennifer Grinager echoed this, adding that it was important to ensure people had their input heard before the board appointed someone.

"I love the idea of not having a vacancy that we need to deal with. I don't think we should rush through this," Grinager said. "We want to make sure it doesn't feel to them that we made a quick decision." Δ