District 186 board honors Mike Zimmers in first meeting since his death. Here's what's next

Sarah Blissett remembered how fellow School District 186 board member Mike Zimmers "took us newbies in and explained things in a way that made sense."

Board member Erica Austin singled out Zimmers as "a fair man who asked the tough questions."

Monday marked the first board of education meeting since Zimmers died Oct. 5.

The day before, Zimmers had been part of contract negotiations between the district and the Springfield Education Association that went on for over 10 hours.

Zimmers served as a special education teacher, coach, principal and administrator in the district for 34 years before retiring in 2011. He was first elected to the school board from Subdistrict 4, which serves the southwest side of Springfield, in 2013 and served as both president and vice president.

More:Mike Zimmers 'always wanted the best for kids and schools in this community'

Zimmers' seat in the board room Monday was draped in black cloth with an embossed District 186 logo.

A proclamation drafted by board member Buffy Lael-Wolf celebrated Zimmers' "advocacy for students, teachers, staff and administrators of 186."

The proclamation, along with his nameplate, was presented to Zimmers' wife, Nancy, and daughter, Layne, an administrative intern at Franklin Middle School, who were in attendance at Monday's meeting.

Lael-Wolf earlier said she would miss Zimmers' leadership and mentorship and "his ability to reassure everybody."

"There are only six other people in the world who understand what this board has gone through in the last year and a half and one of them is gone and it's a big hole," she said. "We very much feel it.

"He was such a calming presence no matter what we were facing. It's a loss for this community. It's a loss for the teachers, the students in this district."

Blissett, who was appointed to the board in February 2021, said it was "one of the greatest honors of my life" to sit on the board with Zimmers.

"One of the things they said at his funeral was that he's left us his legacy and it was our job to uphold it," Blissett said. "If it's the last thing I do as a board member, I will strive to uphold his legacy every single day."

Zimmers, said Austin, understood the differences in socio-economic backgrounds and never stood in judgment of anyone.

"Mr. Z was one of the few who actually got it," Austin said. "His heart was truly in the right place when it came to the decision-making of the district and the well-being of everyone."

Board member Micah Miller will take Zimmers' spot on the district's bargaining team.

Those negotiations pick up Tuesday with a federal mediator in the room for the first time.

"Any problem we were facing as a board, he was calming," Miller said of Zimmers. "He seemed to have already been there and he knew what to do. His knowledge was so impressive and his network of friends ... I'm just really going to miss him."

After the meeting, Superintendent Jennifer Gill recalled that Zimmers was on the team interviewing her for the district's top spot, "the most nervous moment of my life."

"To be able to come out and have the honor to serve this district alongside him and us be on the board the entire nine years, there's no other sitting board member that's been on the board as long as Mike," Gill added. "It gives me a lot of motivation to do what he would want me to do as we move forward."

SEA President Aaron Graves read Giovanni Pascoli's poem "The Fallen Oak," and noted that Zimmers provided teachers "fruit, shade and sustenance for decades.

"Nothing can replace such an icon," Graves added.

SEA is planting an oak tree in Zimmers' honor.

What's next

Board President Anthony Mares said the board will accept applications for Zimmers' replacement through 4:30 p.m. Nov. 1.

That person would serve through April 2023 when the term expires. All seven board seats are up April 4 because of the decennial Census.

The board will conduct any candidate interviews during executive session prior to the Nov. 7 board meeting. That person will be seated at the end of the meeting, Mares said.

Among several qualifications, prospective candidates must be 18 years of age, a resident of the district for at least one year preceding the appointment and be a registered voter.

Candidates need to provide contact information, a short statement on why they want to serve on the board and a resume to board secretary Julie Hammers, c/o District 186, 1900 W. Monroe St., Springfield, IL 62704.

Former board member Tiffany Mathis, who professed interest in the seat in July after Zimmers said he was "99% sure" he wasn't going to run for reelection in 2023, said Sunday she would be open to applying to fill out the rest of the term.

Mathis, the CEO and executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Illinois, said for now she didn't want to commit to running for a four-year term because of family obligations.

Mathis got engaged to Ethan Posey on Thursday.

"As a person who has served on multiple boards and obviously running a large nonprofit, I appreciate it when people who know the lay of the land are able to step in and at least help get things where they need to be," Mathis said.

Mathis was appointed to the board in Subdistrict 5 in 2019 and then lost to Lael-Wolf in the 2021 election. Mathis moved into Subdistrict 4 in May 2021.

Mathis said she and Zimmers, a longtime friend and a fellow Rotarian, had conversations about her running in 2023.

"Mike Zimmers did invaluable work for the district," Mathis said. "Nobody could ever fill those shoes."

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Springfield District 186 board looks to fill Mike Zimmers' seat