The Bourbonnais Elementary School Board has appointed a new member.

Stacey Moore, a lifelong Bourbonnais resident, was appointed to the seven-member board and took an oath of office on Wednesday.

Moore fills the vacancy left by the Jan. 13 death of the board’s previous president, Jayne Raef.

Raef was the board’s longest-sitting member, having served for about 20 years since taking the seat in 2007.

Moore was appointed to serve until the next regular school election.

Raef’s term was set to expire in 2027.

Superintendent Adam Ehrman said that approximately 10 people applied to fill the board vacancy.

“When a district is in strife, usually not a lot of people apply, and when a district is seeing success, it usually attracts more applicants that want to learn and be part of that,” he said. “We were not shocked by the influx of people interested.”

Moore attended District 53 schools and is a 1998 graduate of Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School.

She also attended Olivet Nazarene University, where she currently works as associate dean of academic systems and communication.

Moore said she hopes to be a “listening ear” and an advocate for students and teachers.

“I really love our community and I love our teachers, and I think they need as much support as we can give them,” Moore said. “I thought this was the best way to do it.”

The current board also includes Stephan Moulton, president; Betsy Keller, vice president; Kelly Dunnill, secretary; Jamie Freedlund; Erika Young and Brian Fritz.