Following the surprise resignation last wek of Tappan Fitzgerald, a member of the South Portland Board of Education, the City Council is now seeking candidates from District 5 interested in replacing him on the school district’s governing board.

Potential candidates are scheduled for interviews during a council workshop on Oct. 17, according to City Clerk Emily Scully, who said applications should be submitted to her office no later than Oct. 4.

Under the charter, it’s the council’s responsibility to choose a new school board member to fulfill the remainder of Fitzgerald’s term, which runs through November 2017.

Fitzgerald was a year into his third consecutive term on the school board after being re-elected last fall. In a brief statement during the Sept. 12 board meeting, Fitzgerald said, “For personal reasons, I’m going to regretfully resign at the conclusion of tonight’s meeting. Obviously I respect all of you and have a great deal of respect for all teachers, administrators and staff (in) the South Portland School Department. I’ve enjoyed my time and the good work we’ve done.”

In an interview with The Forecaster on Sept. 14, Dick Matthews, chairman of the school board, said that Fitzgerald’s resignation “caught us all off guard. It was a surprise, (but) I wish him the best.”

Fitzgerald would not elaborate on his reasons for leaving the board last week. He did say he regrets not giving the board more notice, and wanted people to know his decision was not based on any sort of dissatisfaction with how the school board operates or how the schools are managed.

“I’m not going away mad, I’m just going away,” he said. “I’ve loved my time on the board, (and) I feel that in the six years I’ve been on the board, we’ve made a lot of great changes in the schools for the better.”

Those improvements he said, included streamlining the school budgeting process and the major renovation of South Portland High School.

“It’s kind of cool to know that you’ve been a part of that,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s been a great run.”

District 5 extends from the city’s northwest border with Portland, to its southwest border with Scarborough, to Wescott Road and Dawson Street, Scully said. Anyone interested in the post should apply online at www.southportland.org or mail an application to the City Clerk’s Office, 25 Cottage Road, South Portland, Maine 04106.

Two seats on the school board are up for election this fall, but only one candidate, Otis Thompson of Hillside Avenue, filed nomination papers for the three-year District 2 seat. Scully said the open District 1 seat would be filled by the person who receives the most write-in votes during the Nov. 8 local election.

– Alex Acquisto, Sun Media Wire

“It’s been a great run,” says Tappan Fitzgerald, who resigned his seat on the South Portland Board of Education last week.