[KHTS] – Saugus Union School District officials voted 4-0 Thursday to approve an appointment process to replace Stephen Winkler.

The move came shortly after the seat was formally declared vacant, about one year after the school board began their process to remove him from office.

The board will hold a public interview process July 18 at a special meeting.

The governing board will announce their candidate at the meeting, and the chosen candidate would then be sworn in at the next regularly scheduled board meeting Aug. 5.

(From earlier story:)

Saugus Union School District officials have sought to remove Winkler for more than a year, after his seat was vacated with a 4-1 vote last June.

School district officials received the OK to remove Winkler – who was censured over inappropriate comments comments he allegedly made through social media accounts, then accused of maintaining a residence outside of school district boundaries in Sylmar two weeks later, from the state’s attorney general in February.

“Winkler is correct that a person may only have one true, legal residence at a time, but the question raised here by his acts and declarations is, where is that residence located?,” wrote Deputy Attorney General Marc Nolan in his statement from the Attorney General’s Office. “Although we cannot answer that question with certainty, it is not necessary for us to do so at this stage. Suffice it to say that there is a substantial factual and legal issue as to the location of Mr. Winkler’s domicile.”

School district officials filed their lawsuit shortly thereafter.