December 6th, 2017 by WCBC Radio

Potential candidates to fill the vacancy on the Allegany County Board of Education are starting to emerge- including two former board members. The seat became vacant last month when board member Lorelee Farrell passed away following an extended illness. Her replacement will be appointed by the governor's office in the coming months to fill the seat until the election next year.  Those who have either sent in an application or are at least considering it include: Lorelee Farrell’s husband Robert Farrell;  former school board members Nick Hadley and Ed Root; Jen Thomas with the Western Maryland Area Health Education Center; Morgan Mayer, a former student member of the board of education and currently employed at Frostburg State University;  James “Snake” Robertson, longtime chair of the Chamber of Commerce Education Committee; and Gary Stein, retired teacher and principal. To date there is just one candidate who has filed to run in next year’s board of education election- Wesley Mason- a regular attendee at board meetings.  Of the incumbents,  Sara Beth Bittinger and Laurie Marchini have each  said they will not seek another term, while Wayne Foote has not yet decided. With Farrell’s passing,  the school board will have to add that post to the November 2018 election ballot,  meaning that four of the five board seats will be decided by voters next year.