LINCOLN -- With a vacant position on the Lincoln School Board, the four remaining members met in a work session Thursday evening to discuss how to fill the spot.

Only one person, Brian Key, Lincoln assistant police chief and the school resource officer, has expressed an interest in serving in the Zone 1 position.

Board member Kendra Moore previously served as the Zone 1 board member. Since being elected, she has moved to a new house located in Zone 3. Legally, Moore could have continued to serve out her term, but instead filed to run for Zone 3 in the Sept. 19 school election.

Nick Brewer, who was representing Zone 3, did not run for re-election.

Moore's Zone 1 position was vacated when voters elected Moore as the Zone 3 board member.

Mary Ann Spears, superintendent of schools, said the district posted the vacant position on its website, asking people interested in serving to submit their names. Key was the only one to respond by the Oct. 3 deadline.

Spears said she met with Police Chief Russell Morphis about the possibility of Key serving on the school board. She said Key was willing to resign as the school resource officer to avoid any conflicts.

Spears said Key would only respond to situations at the school during an emergency.

Board members, though, were concerned about losing a resource officer and wondered if another one would be appointed. The city and the school district each pay half the salary for the resource officer.

"I'm fine with Brian (on the board) as long as they supply us with another resource officer," Moore said, adding, "I think it's important to have someone walking the halls in uniform."

Board member Dax Moreton shared that he called the Arkansas School Board Association to discuss the legality of a school resource officer serving on the school board. He said the association's attorney advised against it.

The attorney's concerns, Moreton said, were that if the police were involved in a situation, then Key would have to recuse himself as a voting member of the board, leaving only four members and the possibility of a split vote, without a fifth person to break a tie.

Another concern, he said, was that, as a school resource officer, Key would be a peer with Lincoln teachers and then would be voting on personnel issues.

Moreton said he didn't know if these concerns would go away if Key resigned as the school resource officer.

Moreton recommended the school board seek a legal opinion before appointing Key to fill the vacancy.

Like the others on the board, Moreton said he thought Key would be a good member but added, "I don't want to open us to liability in the future.... I want to make sure we're making a good decision for the district."

The board asked Spears to put together a plan between the city and school district on how it would work if Key was appointed to fill the vacancy. Spears also said she would call the school's attorney for advice.

By state law, a vacant position must be filled within 30 days. The person appointed to the position will only serve until the primary election in May. The appointee would have to run for office in May and be elected to continue in the position.