Lannis Timmons replaces Chris Nelms on the Cincinnati Public Schools board

In a unanimous 6-0 vote Wednesday, the Cincinnati school board chose retired coach and teacher Lannis J. Timmons to replace Chris Nelms.

Nelms’ seat had been vacant since he died in September after a battle with cancer. By law, the board had 30 days to make an appointment.

Timmons, who retired in 2013, was selected from a field of 26 applicants.

"It was a difficult decision for all of us," said CPS board member Eve Bolton just after Timmons was sworn in. "And yet, I think we came up with a great, unanimous decision." 

Timmons graduated from Woodward High School and taught at CPS' Sawyer Junior HIgh School, Western Hills High School and Woodward High School. He was a head basketball coach, earning Coach of the Year awards in 1999, 2000 and 2001. 

Nelms was huge into extracurriculars, particularly athletics, so Timmons seems a natural fit for his replacement.

“I was a good friend of Chris Nelms,” Timmons wrote in his application, “and I would be proud to carry on the work he did, while on the Board.”

Nelm’s death came at what was already a time of transition for CPS. There’s a new superintendent, Laura Mitchell, and on Election Day in less than a month, 13 candidates are running for four open seats on the seven-member school board.

Nelms’ seat is separate from those four. He was in the middle of a four-year term, so Timmons will be up for re-election in 2019.

The other two finalists for the seat were Marcia Futel, who works in financial services, and Reginald Harris, a social worker for Lighthouse Youth Services.

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