Following the resignation of a board member who served nearly two decades, the Brandywine board of education was tasked with finding a temporary replacement at its regular meeting Monday night.

Jason Spitler, of Niles, was chosen by the board to fill the seat vacated by Jim Curran, who resigned in July at the end of a term he was originally elected to fulfill. Due to a change in legislature, board members were asked to serve until the end of the calendar year, with newly elected officials beginning their tenure on Jan. 1.

Spitler, a full-time EMT at Southwestern Michigan Community Ambulance Service, was chosen by the five remaining members of the school board to fill the seat until Dec. 31.

“I’m very thankful for the opportunity,” Spitler said. “I’m definitely a fresh mind, and they need fresh minds in there.”

During the meeting, Spitler pointed out that he had sent his children to Brandywine as a school of choice for 10 years before moving to the school district.

“That was my wife’s choice. She’s from the area. Moving down here, I didn’t know enough about either one of the school districts, but my wife graduated from Cedar Lane and didn’t really like her experience. She had always heard great things about Brandywine, and our experience has supported that,” Spitler said.

The board’s decision to appoint Spitler followed a public interview in which board of education asked the three candidates vying for the position a series of questions. August Garritano and Ralph Skinner, both of Niles, also interviewed for the seat.

Garritano is a 2008 graduate of Brandywine High School and co-founder of the school’s Performing Arts Workshop. Skinner has two children in the district.

“I don’t think there was a bad one on there,” said Dennis Cooper, board president. “August would bring a lot of energy to the board. The other two have life experience.”

Though the board voted unanimously, Cooper said the decision does not necessarily mean Spitler was every board member’s top choice.

“We don’t want to have a divided board. When somebody makes a motion, you wait for a second and then you vote. It’s an awkward situation to have to do something like this. We don’t have a whole lot of turmoil in our district right now. We don’t need it to start over something like this,” Cooper said. “This member is appointed by us, and the board members should be voted in by the public. And in November, they will be.”

Spitler, Skinner and Garritano are all currently in the running to fill four board seats, as are incumbent Dennis Hinsey and another candidate, Jerry Tibbs.

Another seat vacated by longtime board member Mike Shelton is scheduled to be filled using the same process in one month.