Here’s the plan to fill the opening on the Horry County Schools board
The Horry County Schools board plans to choose its newest member after one of its own resigned last week.
The board voted Monday to move forward with a plan that will include advertising the opening, interviewing qualified candidates and voting on the replacement, who will serve until residents can vote on a new board member in 2020.
Kenneth Generette, the district’s attorney, explained that the board must fill the seat within 90 days of a resignation, per board governance, which would be Dec. 15.
The position will be advertised in local newspapers and on district social media pages beginning Tuesday, and applications will be accepted until Oct. 16 at 4:30 p.m. The board will then review those applications during a special called meeting Nov. 4 and vote on which candidates to bring in for interviews.
Those interviews will take place during a Nov. 11 meeting, and Generette said the board can either vote on the replacement at that time or wait until its next meeting on Nov. 18. If the vote is taken Nov. 11, the new member would be sworn in Nov. 18, and if the board waits until Nov. 18, the swearing in would take place Dec. 9.
Board chairman Ken Richardson said he’d prefer the vote take place Nov. 11 to ensure the district is represented as quickly as possible. The person chosen will serve until the 2020 general election.
Holly Heniford announced her resignation last week in light of her DUI arrest earlier this month.
“It is with regret that I am hereby submitting my resignation from the Horry County Board of Education effective immediately,” she wrote in her resignation letter. “After much contemplation and soul searching over the past week, I came to the conclusion that my resignation from the board was the proper action for me to take so that the important work of the Board members in providing excellent educational opportunities for our students will not be distracted from by my personal situation. My number one goal as a board member for District One has always been to put the needs of the children first. It is with this goal in mind that I believe my resignation is necessary at this time.”
Heniford, who is also a licensed real estate broker, was first elected to school board in 2014 to represent District 1, which includes most of North Myrtle Beach and part of Myrtle Beach. She was re-elected last year with her second term set to expire in 2022. The person elected in 2020 will serve the remainder of that term.
This story was originally published September 23, 2019 at 8:00 PM.
