Holly Hines

hhines2@press-citizen.com

Tom Yates has resigned effective immediately as a member of the Iowa City Community School Board, according to the Iowa City Community School District.

"Yates has been a strong supporter of the district’s work and a staunch advocate for our students over the last seven months," Kristin Pedersen, the district's coordinator of community affairs, said in a news release Friday. "The district wishes him the best in his future endeavors; however, his service to the district and board will be missed."

Yates did not immediately respond to phone and email messages.

School Board President Chris Lynch said the district's attorney, Joe Holland, is reviewing Iowa Code regarding the process for filling a vacant board seat.

Because there are more than 180 days until the next school board election, state law gives the school board 30 days to decide whether to replace Yates through appointment or a special election, said Carrie Nierling, elections deputy for the Johnson County Auditor’s Office.

If the board chooses to wait and allow a special election to take place, the winner would serve until September 2019, the remainder of Yates’ term.

If the board chooses to appoint a replacement, that person would serve until the next districtwide election, currently scheduled for September 2017.

The resignation comes as the board is embroiled in a controversial discussion of school boundaries and ahead of a general obligation bond scheduled for 2017 to provide funding for facilities projects in the district.

Yates cast the deciding vote in several 4-3 decisions concerning boundaries Tuesday night, voting with the majority on all four issues.

Lynch said the board is juggling several key issues and that could play into the decision about filling the seat.

RELATED: School boundary talks not over, board members say

"That might be one good reason to go to election versus appointment. ... There's a lot going on, so we will need to get that seat filled as quick as we can," he said.

Lynch said he learned Yates would resign Friday morning, and he said he is thankful for Yates' service on the board.

"Obviously, being on the board of directors in the Iowa City Community School District is a difficult role, and I think the community needs to start to probably think more about that," he said.

The most recent vacancy on the board came last summer, when Tuyet Baruah announced her resignation weeks before the Sept. 8 school board election. Because of the timing of that vacancy, the remaining two years of Baruah's term were automatically added to the ballot during that election. Voters elected Chris Liebig to fill the vacant seat.

In 2014, however, the board voted to appoint Orville Townsend to fill a vacant seat after former board president Sally Hoelscher resigned.

Yates is a former City High English teacher and has 31 years of teaching experience. He is also a former Iowa City Education Association president.

Reporter Jeff Charis-Carlson contributed to this report.

Reach Holly Hines at hhines2@press-citizen.com or at 319-887-5414 and follow her on Twitter at @HollyJHines.