The term for Demopolis school board chair Gary Holemon expires on May 31, and the Demopolis City Council will begin to consider candidates to fill that position.

The council will seek to fill a position on the school board. Once it is filled, the board will elect a new chair.

“The city council will make the appointment to the school board,” said Demopolis mayor Mike Grayson. “We are gathering candidates to discuss or, ultimately, to vote on at the next council meeting on April 22.”

Holemon will have served two full five-year terms, the most that anyone can serve on the school board. He has served as the chair of the school board for six years.

“I have enjoyed my term,” Holemon said. “It’s time for someone else to come in with some new ideas.

“There are so many professional educators whose purpose is to provide the best education for our kids that they can. It’s nice to work with people doing that.

“You have a good feeling about what you’re doing and what you accomplish. I’ve worked with some very, very good people who were appointed on the school board who have the very best interests of the students at heart.”

Holemon said he believed there were some aspects of a person’s background that would make that person a good selection for the school board.

“Someone with a financial background will be helpful in going forward,” said Holemon, who is the chief credit officer at Robertson Banking Company. “The 10 years that I’ve served on the school board, we’ve been in proration for three years — including the last two years — and it looks like we’re set for another year of proration.

“Also, there are some kids who are very affluent and are going to do very well, and there are others who are not. You need to have an open mind for the things that you can do for those kids — helping the kids who are at risk. You need to find someone who is sensitive to those and other issues.”