The Little Miami School District Board of Education has not yet appointed a new member to fill its open seat after being given 30 days to make a selection.
In a message to the school community Friday, the district said the remaining four members of the Board were unable to reach a majority agreement on a new appointee by the state-mandated deadline.
That means the task of choosing a new member will now be given to Warren County Probate Court Judge Joseph Kirby.
Thirty-eight people applied for the seat vacated by former Board member Dan Smith, who resigned in March after social media posts he made denying the Holocaust and praising Hitler while campaigning for and serving on the Board came to light.
Smith's time on the Little Miami Board of Education was brief. He was elected in Nov. 2025, took his oath of office in Jan. 2026, and only served as a voting member for about three months.
After the board began accepting applications for the opening, some in the community questioned whether the remaining members could be trusted to use a fair process to appoint a new member.
Current Board President David Wallace has sued several people in the school community for defamation in the past year, including Little Miami's superintendent, the district itself and current and former Board members. Though the Board has not publicly shared the full list of candidates, some in the community say some people Wallace has sued are among them, creating a conflict of interest.
Others also questioned Board member Mandy Bullock's connection to Smith. The two campaigned for seats on the board together and won in 2025 as endorsed Republicans. Despite their connection, Bullock insists she wasn't aware of Smith's racist views.
"Yes, we ran together. We both were endorsed by the Republican Party," Bullock said in March. "I had no idea those were his feelings. I do not have those same feelings."
In addition to the ethical concerns, the school district and Wallace are being sued in federal court by an unnamed teacher at Little Miami High School after the Board voted to force the removal of an LGBTQ flag from their classroom wall. The teacher alleges the district violated their First Amendment rights.
Wallace, Smith, Bullock and Board member Diane Horvath all voted in favor of removing the flag, deeming it inappropriate sexual content. Wayne Siebert was the only member to vote against the flag's removal.
Considering the circumstances, David Whiting — who ran for a seat on the Board in the fall but fell short — told WVXU the Board is likely content with shifting the appointment duties to the court. Whiting threw his hat in the ring for Smith's open seat, but during the 30 days, he says the Board of Education never contacted him or others he knows who applied.
The Warren County Probate Court tells WVXU that Judge Kirby will outline the selection process in the near future.
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