Sunday marks 30 days since the death of William Hill Jr. left a vacancy on the Lehighton Area School District board of directors, one that has yet to be filled.

A board with four members each on opposing sides of a proposed $32.5 million K-5 elementary center deadlocked on three candidates Monday night.According to William Schwab, Lehighton solicitor, if the matter is not resolved by the end of the weekend, voters can petition the Carbon County Court of Common Pleas to fill the vacancy.Should that petition be filed by at least 10 voters in the district, the case would be randomly assigned to one of Carbon County's Common Pleas judges by a computer, according to court administrator Roberta Brewster."Once the petition is filed, it will be forwarded to the assigned judge and will be reviewed and scheduled based upon the availability of the judge's calendar," Brewster said on Tuesday.Neither Schwab nor Brewster could pinpoint the last time a school board vacancy had to be settled in court in Carbon County."I've been at Lehighton almost 30 years and I can't recall it happening in any district around here in that time when the appointment is contested," Schwab said. "There have been cases when boards have just let the 30 days pass and it was passed on to a judge, but never this situation."The criteria for filling the vacancy would be entirely up to the individual judge, Schwab said.Various options have been used around the state.Luzerne County Court posted a candidate qualification questionnaire on its website in 2011 in an effort to fill a vacancy in the Wilkes-Barre Area School District. It also scheduled a hearing to address any objections."Some judges have looked at it and said, hypothetically, Mr. Hill was a Democrat so we're going to appoint a Democrat," Schwab said. "Other judges have said we want a neutral party if there is a controversial issue and some have just said we want someone who is experienced. There is really no way to tell."Lehighton's only requirement if Sunday comes and goes without a ninth board member appointed is to send a letter to the election bureau informing them there is a vacancy."That letter has already been drafted," Schwab said.Brewster said any petition would be filed in the Carbon County Prothonotary's office.