How to apply Who can apply: Candidates must be at least 18 years old, a registered voter and resident of the TCAPS district for at least 30 days prior to appointment. Property ownership is not required. How to apply: Applicants must submit a packet, including a letter of interest, resume, contact information, and completed responses to the board candidate questionnaire, available online at qr.tcaps.net/boardvacancy. All application materials must be received by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19. Submissions may be delivered via:
Email: Tammy Brunan at brunanta@tcaps.net (Attn: Erica Moon Mohr, Board President) Mail: Erica Moon Mohr, Board President, c/o Tammy Brunan, PO Box 232, Traverse City, MI 49685 In Person: Superintendent’s Office, TCAPS Administration Building, 2075 Cass Road, Traverse City, MI 49684
Selection: The Board of Education will review applications, deliberate, and vote to appoint the interim board member during a public Board Study Session at 5 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24, at TCAPS Montessori School Cafeteria, 4053 Franke Road, Traverse City, MI 49684 For more information regarding board governance and applicant expectations, please visit www.tcaps.net/board and view the “Interested in Becoming a Board Member” section. {related_content_uuid}6d25113c-9016-4997-8baf-5e78e0491a24{/related_content_uuid}
TRAVERSE CITY — Traverse City Area Public Schools is looking to fill a board of education vacancy this month.
Applications will be accepted through 5 p.m. Aug. 19 to fill the interim post, which will run from Aug. 24, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2028.
The vacancy was created on July 30 by the retirement of board President Scott Newman-Bale. The board’s vice president, Erica Moon Mohr, was automatically promoted to president, per the bylaws, and the clock began ticking to fill the board vacancy.
“He did a fantastic job and did create stability, and so I just can’t thank him enough,” Moon Mohr said. “And so, yeah, big shoes to fill, but happy to be here.”
The board has 30 days from Newman-Bale’s notice, until Aug. 29, to fill the vacancy or the board of education for Northwest Education Services, the intermediate school district, will appoint the new trustee.
The process to fill the position will mirror the steps established last year that began with an application packet that must include a letter of interest, resume, contact information and completed responses to the board candidate questionnaire, which includes 11 questions.
Trustees will review the submitted packets prior to an Aug. 24 meeting when they will discuss the applications. The meeting was initially intended to be a study session on capital bond project planning, but board members decided Monday that candidacy selection was a more urgent priority.
Trustee Ty Schmidt said selecting a new trustee was a “really good investment” of the board’s time. He liked the process that was used last year and didn’t want them to be rushed by trying to add it to the study session agenda. Other board members agreed, so the study session will be rescheduled for some time in September.
At the Aug. 24 meeting, candidates will have the opportunity to give an optional 5-minute statement and board members can ask them one question each.
Trustees Scott Hardy and Sara Bageris, who were both appointed through a similar process, said it was fair and not too burdensome.
The vacancy is for a trustee position since Trustee Scott Hardy was voted in as the vice president Monday, with one vote — from Schmidt – cast against his promotion.
Schmidt said he appreciates working with Hardy, that he needed structure but asks good questions. However, Hardy’s “no” vote on 31aa funding back in December reflected a “large difference in judgment.”
Deciding on whether to accept 31aa state funding for safety and mental health with newly added, and controversial, legal requirements for school districts was “the most consequential vote this body has taken in a long time,” said Schmidt, who noted that he just couldn’t “set aside that difference.”
Hardy then nominated Schmidt for the treasurer position, which he won with a unanimous vote of the board.
As for the vacant interim position on the board, anyone who is at least 18 years of age and has lived in the TCAPS district for 30 days is eligible to apply for it.
Superintendent Dr. John VanWagoner said that even those who have said they will be running for one of the four board positions on the November ballot can apply to fill the vacancy.
If the person who is appointed to fill the vacancy wins in November, that candidate would assume the four-year term and resign from the interim position. Then the board to go through an appointment process again, he said.
Moon Mohr said that the actual voting structure used to choose the new member will be decided at the Aug. 19 meeting to accommodate the number of applicants.
She said the board will be flexible in this process, using a second meeting if necessary to make the decision.