The Mid-Prairie School Board met on August 13th. Photo by Sam McIntosh.

As the Mid-Prairie School District prepares for a special election to fill a school board vacancy August 28th, another school board member has announced his resignation.

Jim Hussey presented a letter announcing his resignation at the end of Monday’s school board meeting. Hussey explained his reasoning, “Just last week my wife Jean accepted a position in the Iowa City School District, meaning we both will be working in Iowa City. Because of my son’s previous attendance at the University of Iowa, we also own a small condominium on the east side that is literally within walking distance of both our jobs. We now expect to spend more time during the working week in Iowa City, which makes serving weeknights inside the Mid-Prairie District more difficult than before.”

Hussey added that the distance separates him from the day-to-day interactions that are essential to getting a pulse on the community. Hussey thanked the staff, faculty, administration, community, and the fellow members on the school board, “My heartfelt appreciation goes out to my friends and colleagues on the board, present and past, for your service to our students. We are often told that serving on a school board is a thankless task, but I would like to state for the record the cliché is incorrect. If we do our jobs right, we get to live our mission of ‘Preparing today’s students for tomorrow’s world in a caring learning environment.’ There are few greater rewards I can imagine.”

Hussey asked that his resignation be accepted, effective at the earliest mutually agreeable date between himself and the board. Hussey has served on the board since 1999, and his current term is set to end in 2021. Board President Jeremy Pickard recommended they formally accept Hussey’s resignation at their next meeting on August 27th, which is a day before the special election. The board will then have 30 days to determine whether to appoint someone to fill his vacancy or hold another election.