County residents filled the Mathews High School media center Tuesday night to take the opportunity to speak in favor of their choice to replace Jeanice Sadler on the Mathews County School Board.

In all, 22 people addressed the Mathews County School Board during the hour-long meeting, including five of the nine candidates who applied to fill the vacancy created when Sadler announced in October that she was stepping down from the board because she is moving out of the county.

The school board is expected to make a decision on the interim appointment at its Dec. 14 meeting. The position will be filled for one year, with a special election to be held in November 2022 for the remainder of Sadler’s term.

More than half of the 22 speakers addressing the board during Tuesday’s public hearing spoke out in favor of Lorraine Forrest. Forrest ran for one of two open seats on the school board last month, receiving the third highest vote total behind current school board chair Linda Hodges...