Three members of the Luther School Board Monday night appointed CJ Cavin to a vacated seat on the board. Cavin was one of four candidates who submitted applications to fill the seat left open when Charles DeFuria resigned on March 6, 2017.
The candidates, in addition to Cavin, were Matt Mohr, Jennifer Phillips and Doug Wilson. They were interviewed in an executive session with the four school board members and Superintendent-Elect Barry Gunn. Although three of the interviews lasted about 15 minutes, former board president Mohr spent an hour in his interview. Afterward, he said he wanted to communicate successes of his service on the board. He was defeated for his re-election bid in February 2017.
After the interviews, the board deliberated behind closed doors for about an hour.
When they reconvened, board member Tony Rumpl made the motion to appoint Cavin but prefaced it with a comment.
“Id like to say thank you to all four candidates for showing a willingness to do this (serve on the board). It’s not as fun as I thought it was going to be. The length of our deliberation is a testament to the quality of candidates that we had.”
Rumpl, Sherri Anderson and School Board President Steve Broudy voted yes for Cavin’s appointment. Ray Stanfield voted no.
Cavin graduated from Wellston High School in 2008, and is a third year law student. He is a digital media correspondent for the Oklahoma County Clerk’s office.
“I’m excited to serve,” said Cavin just moments after being sworn into office. He repeated the following oath: I, CJ Cavin, hereby declare under oath that I will faithfully perform the duties of Luther School Board member office three of Luther Independent School District #3 to the best of my ability and that I will faithfully discharge all of the duties pertaining to said office and obey the constitution and laws of the United States and Oklahoma.
Cavin, in his application letter to the board, stated that he has been an advocate for public education his entire life. “The Luther School District has significant challenges … the Board of Education needs members that are willing to roll up their sleeves and get the work done. I would be honored to be a part of that.
“Service is who I am. If I am given the opportunity to serve on the school board, I pledge two things. 1. I will do the research. I will always be prepared to vote and discuss agenda items. If I don’t know, I’ll ask. 2. I will be transparent. If a community member wants to visit or talk about issues facing the district, they deserve to have their voice heard.” Cavin will fill the term that expires in February 2018 when the next election will be held.
Incidentally, Cavin’s wife, Paxton Cavin, was elected earlier this month to the Luther Town Board of Trustees and took office today.
