ANDERSON — With an approaching deadline to name its new member, the board of Anderson Community Schools will likely not have time to conduct public interviews with applicants, the board’s president said.

Toby Jones said Wednesday that a decision on who should fill the board’s only at-large seat would probably come during a closed meeting Tuesday, a day before deadline. The name would then be announced during the board’s public meeting that evening, she said.

“The meeting that we’re having is at the last minute to make that appointment,” Jones said. “I don’t know if we’ll have time to get the interviews in at this point.”

The board has had one month to name a replacement for Robert Scott, who resigned April 21 in an e-mail that said he no longer lived in Anderson.

Jones said in April that the board would likely open up the application process and possibly choose Scott’s replacement after holding public interviews with select candidates.

Twelve people submitted applications for the at-large seat, including board member Teddy Bohnenkamp, who will lose her Central District seat July 1.

Those applications were due to Anderson Community Schools last Friday, and Jones said Monday that the school board was planning to review the applications during an executive session Tuesday.

That discussion, however, had to be postponed after The Herald Bulletin informed Jones and the school corporation’s attorney, Charles Rubright, that the board had given no public notice of such a discussion.

Indiana’s public access laws allow governing boards to meet in executive session to consider applications for a vacancy, but the board must give 48-hour notice.

On May 7, Anderson schools informed board members and media of two executive sessions on May 13, one before a since canceled public board meeting and another after. The notice said the purpose of the meeting was to discuss collective bargaining, litigation or possible litigation and matters regarding someone the board has authority over.

Jones said another executive session had always been planned, but deferred comment on its original purpose and timing to ACS Superintendent Mikella Lowe.

Lowe did not return calls seeking comment Wednesday, nor did board member Bohnenkamp, who must abstain from the selection process because she is among the applicants.

Board members Wally Fitch and William Riffe declined to comment on the selection proceedings, but Riffe sided with Jones by saying, “Whatever the president said at this point is fine by me.”

Philip Morgan, another board member, said his preference would be to conduct interviews with candidates.

“It’s a diverse pool of people,” he said. “When you have that many people interested, as a school board, that sends a message. People are concerned about what’s going on, and I think they have some valuable input.”