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GARDNER, Kan. —One of two vacant seats on the Gardner-Edgerton School Board has been filled.

The district received 14 applications to fill the At-Large district seat formerly held by Robin Stout. Monday the board voted 4-1 to appoint Nick Robinson to fill the vacancy, with only Katie Williams voting against the nomination. 

“Nick has been here at every single board meeting, he’s been very involved. The same community that voted us in seem to support him pretty well. I think that represents the majority of the citizenry. I think it really shows how dedicated he is that he was here every single meeting,” Board member Greg Chapman said.  

Robinson is a father of four children in the Gardner-Edgerton School District and a former U.S. Marine. 

“He’s been here every meeting. He’s been involved in the community and he’s shown his investment even prior to there being a vacancy,” Board member Tom Reddin said. 

Robinson identified staff retention, special education and post-high school preparedness as his top priorities for the district. In his application Robinson cited school masking policies as what sparked his interest in joining the board. 

“I have no background with school district operations,” Robinson wrote. “It was only when the schools started locking down, forced masking and forced removal of healthy children from school that I became involved and an advocate for the kiddos and their parents!” 

The board will now turn its attention to filling the vacant District 1, Position 1 board seat previously held by Kristen Schultz. 

Schultz submitted her resignation last week after serving roughly six years on the board. 

Following the resignation of Stout in January and the resignation of board members Shawn Carlisle and Tresa Boden in August, Schultz is now the fourth person to resign from the board this school year. 

The school district is now accepting letters of interest to appoint someone to serve the remainder of Schultz’s unexpired term set to end in 2024. Applicants must live within the District 1 boundary and submit an application by 3 p.m. on Friday, March 25. The board intends to fill the vacant seat at the next regular board meeting on Monday, April 4.