Board to revote on newest member

The winner of Monday night's vote to fill a vacant Baraboo School Board seat is unclear after a canvassing Tuesday morning revealed a tie, board President Kevin Vodak said Tuesday.

The board had announced Monday that Judd Maxwell, who resigned from his seat at the end of April, had won it back with a 4-2 vote — but the administrative assistant counting the six ballots made an error, Vodak said Tuesday.

Maxwell actually received three votes, and Doug Mering, who was assigned the alternate position, also received three. A revote Monday between Mering and Maxwell will determine the winner, Vodak said.

"It's an unfortunate chain of events, but mistakes happen," he said. "We're going to continue from where we would have been had we realized we had a 3-3 tie."

Maxwell declined to comment until after Monday's meeting.

The ballots used during the vote had the names of all six candidates listed alphabetically with a line next to each person's name. Mering and Maxwell were next to each other. Vodak said he's not sure how the error occurred, but board policy states that if there is a tie, the members continue voting until it's broken.

"If there's no movement after three additional votes, I will ask for suggestions from the board," he said. "That needs to be a board-based decision. … If we are at a deadlock, we need to find a solution."

Board members signed the bottom of their ballots and the meeting took place in open session, but Vodak said he did not know if the ballots were public record and wouldn't say how anyone else voted. Vodak and board member Gary Cummings said they voted for Maxwell; Mary Anne Stewart and Kevin Bartol said they voted for Mering; and Jill Ellinwood and Patty Spragg declined to say how they voted.

"I was having a terrible time (deciding)," Spragg said. "I don't think it'll be any easier next time. When I was first on the board I was appointed to the board, not elected, and I think this is a very important decision that we're making."

Maxwell was elected to his second three-year term April 3 before resigning April 27 to apply for the newly-created activities director position. Mering lost a write-in campaign for the board in 2006 by three votes and has been heavily involved in board meetings and advocating for school funding reform.

"I was very taken by how Doug expressed his work that he has done proactively and positively for our school district, yet he has not been a member of this board," Stewart said. "He has been so caring and giving and dedicated and committed to our school district all along."

Cummings said he was impressed with Mering's participation, but Maxwell brought three years of board experience back to the table.

"I figure he's well-qualified and he's been on there for a little more than three years now, so he's got a lot of training," he said. "And also he was voted in by the people of the district."

Bartol said it may have been "the toughest vote I ever had," but in the end he felt Mering was more active in dealing with lawmakers. "I wish them both luck," he said. "They're two individuals you don't always have to agree with and you still have their respect."