The District 15 school board appointed David Seiffert to fill a seat left vacant by Mark Bloom's resignation earlier this month.

Bloom had two years remaining on his term and resigned from the board because of scheduling conflicts with work.

Seiffert already was a candidate for the school board in the upcoming April election. Seiffert was appointed by a 4 to 2 vote, with two of the yes votes coming from board members he is facing in the April election. Despite being appointed to the school board, Seiffert will remain on the April ballot.

"I hope to secure a four-year seat," Seiffert said, adding that he plans to campaign hard.

Seiffert said he was committed to the children and the school district. He said he had made a commitment to run and was going to follow through on it. He said that being on the board now would provide him valuable experience.

If Seiffert were to win in April, he would resign from the two-year seat and the school board would again have to appoint someone to the board. Seiffert was selected from a crowded field of 14 applicants. Among the applicants was former Township High School District 211 school board member William Lloyd and Jennifer DeFranco, a former PTA president at Paddock Elementary school and the current membership marketing director for the Illinois PTA.

Among those supporting Seiffert were school board president Gerald Chapman and James Ekeberg – both are candidates in the April election.

Chapman said electoral politics did not influence the decision, rather he said Seiffert was a well-qualified candidate from a strong field. Chapman cited Seiffert's involvement in the PTA and his leadership of the District 15 Foundation - a nonprofit group that fund raises for the district.

School board members Tim Millar and Sue Quinn voted against the appointment. Millar and Quinn both said that Lloyd deserved more consideration.

"There were a few other candidates who were much stronger [than Seiffert]," Millar said after the meeting, adding that the school board should have left the choice of Seiffert up to the voters.

The school board begin interviewing the 14 candidates at 10:10 a.m. The appointment was made around 4 p.m.

Quinn said many of the applicants had outstanding credentials and the school district should make efforts to involve them in the district, particularly Navigate15, an ongoing District 15 planning and outreach effort.