GARDINER — The Gardiner City Council chose Tony Veit to serve for the balance of this year as one of the city’s representatives on the school board for Gardiner-area schools.

Both Veit and Curtis Ayotte attended Wednesday’s council meeting and spoke briefly before the council voted by secret ballot.

Veit had served on the School Administrative District 11 board from 2010 to 2013, but he opted not to run for re-election when it became clear that pursuing his master’s degree in social work would demand a commitment of time. He was awarded his degree earlier this year from Boston University.

Veit said his interest in the school board started when he was a member of the parent-teacher association.

“Now I have a better sense of the nuances that goes into managing (school) funds,” he said.

Ayotte, who serves on the city’s Recreational Marijuana Task Force, and has been a past candidate for the Legislature, is a senior at the University of Maine at Augusta and is completing his degree in education.

Ayotte said he wanted to be able to dig into the school district’s budget.

The vacancy was created when school board member Kathy Chadwick stepped down earlier this year as one of five Gardiner representatives on the board.

By law, the Gardiner City Council appoints a replacement to serve until the next election, which takes place in November.

Voters will decide who will fill the position for the balance of Chadwick’s term. The term of whoever is elected starts the day after the election, school board Chairwoman Becky Fles said.

Jessica Lowell — 621-5632

jlowell@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @JLowellKJ