The Austin ISD board of trustees approved a timeline and application for filling the District 7 representative vacancy on Aug. 25.

The board set Aug. 26 as the date when applications, and other information including dates and submission directions, will be posted to the AISD website. Applicants interested in becoming the District 7 trustee will have until 5 p.m. on Sept. 8 to submit an application.

On Sept. 10, an orientation will be held for candidates to learn more about the responsibilities of being a trustee.

The board also approved three forums that allow District 7 residents to ask candidates questions. Though the tentative dates for the forums are Sept. 15, Sept. 17 and Sept. 19, but the times, dates and locations are subject to change.

The district also plans to host a televised forum during the week of Sept. 21 at the AISD downtown administrative campus in which half of the questions will come from the public and half come from the trustees.

Sept. 28 is the date when the board, during its regularly scheduled meeting, may be appointing a candidate.

The board approved the timeline and application by a 6-1 vote, with trustee Edmund Gordon opposed and trustee Amber Elenz absent. Before making that decision, trustees debated if the appointment should be held on Oct. 5 instead.

Trustee Jayme Mathias said he prefers keeping the appointment date Sept. 28.

“If you recall when this process started, the two things we heard from District 7 were, do not spend taxpayer money to call a special election, and use urgency to appoint someone as soon as possible,” Mathias said.

Candidates are applying to fill a vacancy created after District 7 trustee Robert Schneider died July 28. The candidate who gets selected will be an interim trustee until the regularly scheduled November 2016 elections.