by Jim Boyle
Editor
Jane Bunting has resigned from her seat on the Elk River Area School Board, and there will be an August primary to fill her vacated post.
The Rogers woman did not seek a fourth year as chairwoman of the seven-member board earlier this year, having decided such a leadership position had to take a backseat to her and husband Jay Bunting’s burgeoning business.
She continued on as a member of the School Board through January and into February, but announced this week she was resigning for personal reasons.
“It is with a heavy heart that she made this decision,” School Board Chairwoman Holly Thompson said.
The Elk River Area School Board accepted and unanimously approved her resignation at a special meeting Feb. 22 to accept bids for the Otsego E-8 school and hold a second reading of a policy at the District 728 offices.
Bunting’s resignation request was added to the agenda to the surprise of fellow board members.
Superintendent Mark Bezek said Bunting served the school district with dedication and a passion to deliver on its mission.
“Her leadership was essential to the success of the 2014 referendum, which will have a long, lasting imprint on the future of our district and our schools,” Bezek said.
Bunting, whose husband was the mayor of the city of Rogers, was elected to the board in the fall of 2010. She served her first term from 2011 to 2014 and was re-elected to a four-year term in that November election.
A special election to fill the remaining two years of her term will take place in August in conjunction with the state primary.
Because Bunting had more than one year left on her term, the Elk River Area School District will be required to hold an election to fill her seat. When that happens is prescribed by law. When a board member resigns between Jan. 19 and April 9 and an appointment is not an option, the vacancy is to be filled at a special election on primary election day, Aug. 9.
Decisions made with heavy heart
Bunting closed out a three-year run as chairwoman on Jan. 4 with a tear in her eye and a crack in her voice when she announced she would not be seeking the post.
Wayzata Bay Spice Co., her and her husband’s business, had grown like crazy in the previous fiscal year, was on target to surpass sales this fiscal year as plans were being made to fetch a machine in China and start a new product line that will package spices in packets rather than bottles for certain applications.
“That’s great news, but that also means you have to invest time and capital and a lot of senior management decisions,” Bunting said in an interview with the Star News after the Jan. 4 organizational meeting. “At some point, I had to decide to shift some of my attention elsewhere.”
Bunting nominated Holly Thompson, of Zimmerman, for the position at the first meeting of the year, and fellow School Board members followed her suggestion with a unanimous vote.