EVANSVILLE — Amy Word ceased to be a member of the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation school board the moment she became a convicted felon on Friday, according to the board’s attorney.
Although EVSC school board president Chris Kiefer asked Word to resign after her July 2022 arrest on a felony charge stemming from allegations of drug use and dealing at Lamasco Bar & Grill, she declined. The board then approved an unpaid leave of absence for Word, who owned and managed Lamasco at the time.
On Friday, school board attorney Pat Shoulders pointed to Indiana Code 5-8-1-38, which states that, “Any public officer convicted of a felony during the public officer’s term of office shall: (1) be removed from office by operation of law when: (A) in a jury trial, a jury publicly announces a verdict against the person for a felony.”
“The significance of that is, as of today at whatever time that verdict was announced, ‘by operation of law,’ means the seat is now vacant,” Shoulders said.
Shoulders said statutes 20-23-4-30 and 20-26-4-4 collectively make clear that the remaining six school board members must fill Word’s seat within 30 days by a majority vote. The individual chosen must be qualified to serve just as if he or she were seeking the seat in an election.