Palm Beach County’s teachers union will have a board meeting next Monday at 5 p.m. to discuss what to do with its leadership positions now that President Robert Dow has died.
Dow was diagnosed in 2010 with an incurable form of leukemia. He died Saturday morning. He was supposed to begin his second term July 1.
Kathi Gundlach, the current vice president of the Classroom Teachers Association, has been acting president of the union for more than a month now, ever since Dow took a leave of absence to undergo another round of chemotherapy. She will continue in that role until the end of this month.
What’s unclear is who will step into the head elected position come the beginning of next month.
“If he had passed away in August, his term would have already started, and the vice president would step into his role,” said Tony Hernandez, executive director of the union. That would mean that incoming vice president Debra Wilhelm would step into the role.
But because Dow died before his term began, the board wants to review its bylaws and decide whether it should hold a special election, Hernandez said.
“The fact that he passed away before the beginning of the term casts a shadow of how the bylaws should be determined,” Hernandez said.
Gundlach said the union is consulting with lawyers to figure out a course of action.
Dow had originally planned against running for another three-year term due to his illness, but in January made the surprise announcement he was running for re-election after doctors told him his condition had stabilized.
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