Metro Council may pick school board member

July 1, 2009 The Metro Council may appoint the next District 9 school board member to replace Alan Coverstone on July 21, council attorney Jon Cooper said. Cooper had said Monday that council rules require an election to happen at least four weeks after a board vacancy is formally announced to the council, which would have put the vote on Aug. 4. But he wrote in an e-mail Tuesday that he had researched the issue further and found a provision in state law requiring vacancies to be filled at the next regular meeting after the vacancy announcement. That announcement will be made at next week's meeting. "I believe this state law provision would trump the procedure set forth in the Council Rules," Cooper wrote. Nominations will be accepted through July 14. Coverstone's replacement will serve until the next Davidson County General Election in August 2010. Coverstone, who was elected to the board in August 2009, resigned late last week to seek a position as Metro's executive director of charter and private schools. District 9 covers Bellevue and the Hillwood area.