It looks like members of the Clintondale school board are going to have to wait a little longer for someone to fill a vacancy in their ranks.

At issue is an opening created by the Jan. 6 death of Michael Manning, a 1973 Clintondale High School graduate and nine-year veteran of the Board of Education who had recently been reelected for another term.

Clintondale board members attempted — and failed — twice to reach a consensus on appointing another individual to replace Manning. They were tied 3-3 on naming a replacement in lengthy and emotional meetings that included racial overtones and other allegations.

Two people have been selected as finalists by board members. They are political newcomer William Rucker-Floyd, and former business owner, community activist and school board trustee Diane Zontini.

Rucker-Floyd is black while Zontini is white.

In the event of a local school board being deadlocked, state law calls for the decision to be made by the local intermediate school district, or in this case, the Macomb Intermediate School District (MISD).

Theresa Genest of Roseville, who serves as president of the MISD school board, said Tuesday she is hospitalized after encountering a medical condition and likely will miss next week’s board meeting. That means the decision may be left until April.

At a special meeting held last month, Clintondale school board President Felicia Kaminski, Vice President Lisa Wilson and Trustee Kurt Wilson Sr. voted for Rucker-Floyd, while members Jared Maynard, Barry Powers, and Lisa Valerio-Nowc favored Zontini.

Both possible candidates carry some political baggage, according to observers.

Rucker-Floyd, 37, who works as a civil engineer, championed expanding career and technical education trades such as carpentry, plumbing, welding or other industries that typically don’t require a college degree.

His board critics pointed to the fact he doesn’t technically reside in the Clintondale school district and has not established proof of residency — which is required to become a school board member.

But Rucker-Floyd told The Macomb Daily he is from south Clinton Township and lost his house in a divorce. For the time being, the father of three children is living at a childhood friend’s home in northern Clinton Township.

“This (becoming a school board member) was not something that I just thought about wanting to do,” he said. “I personally have been asked by other board members and teachers to come back and be on the board.

“I want to help with the kids graduating,” Ruckers-Floyd said. “I am fortunate enough to be working in a field that a lot of kids aren’t privy to. Most will go into blue collar fields, but I’m in a company in the engineering field where you get a company car, a gas card, and a laptop, and some pretty good money.”

Zontini, 72, a homeowner for 42 years, is a retired licensed vocational educator and a former longtime owner of a vocational school. She is a member of the Clinton Township Parks & Recreation Committee, and has served on numerous other township committees.

She served on the Clintondale board for 20 months before stepping down to make an unsuccessful run for the Clinton Township Board of Trustees.

Zontini dismissed criticism that she left the school district in an effort to trade in her experience for a municipal office.

“It’s not that I left the district,” she said in an interview with the Macomb Daily.

“I am concerned about the fiscal health of our community and wanted to serve on the board to monitor how our taxpayer dollars are being spent. I don’t quite understand how, if a person wants to go on and learn more, it’s like getting a higher degree. That’s how I viewed running for the board of trustees.”

Saying she can “hit the ground running” after serving nearly two years on Clintondale’s board, Zontini said her experience can only be view as a positive.

“I want to be the voice of the people of this district to watch how we spend taxpayers money and I feel we need to be conservative in that regard,” she said.

The Clintondale school board meetings recently have been lengthy and sometimes filled with racial overtones. One member said she was “embarrassed and appalled” by the verbiage.

Kaminski, the board president, later read her own apology to the public, saying she was sorry for the “hurtful words that were exchanged” during the sessions.

“It’s never our intention to create an atmosphere of hostility or division,” she said.

MISD Superintendent Michael DeVault last week said officials were notified last week by Clintondale leaders about the board being deadlocked between the two candidates.

He said the formal process is for MISD officials to process a letter from the local school district and then publicize the vacancy to attract candidates. Once that’s done, the matter will be placed on an ISD board agenda to be discussed.

“This doesn’t happen very often, but it does take place from time to time where school board members are unable to come to a consensus on a board vacancy,” DeVault said.

This is latest in a series of appointments to fill various vacancies to the Clintondale Board of Education. At least five people have resigned or otherwise left the district in recent years.

Clintondale board members earn a $300 monthly salary.