Kings racist jerseys incident: Where do things stand now?

The story of racist basketball jerseys that drew national media attention continues to shake up the Kings school community with Tuesday’s resignation of a school board member, setting up a scenario for a new member joining the district’s governing board.

Former Kings Board of Education Vice President Kerry McKiernan did not attend the final public meeting of his term where fellow members voted 4-0 to accept his resignation.

McKiernan had earlier cited his own failure in stopping some of the boys on the recreational league basketball team – not affiliated with Kings — from wearing jerseys with names that appeared to slur African-Americans.

Kings officials promised at their meeting Tuesday that major changes are coming to improve racial and diversity awareness among the 4,300-student district in southern Warren County’s Deerfield township.

Here are five things you know about where the controversial issue stands:

Changes are coming to Kings: Kings Superintendent Tim Ackermann told this news outlet Tuesday that systemic - but not yet detailed - changes are coming to Kings to better foster racial and other diversity sensitivity for students, school staffers and the community at large.

Controversy has caused change to the board: By no later than Feb. 9 - more likely Jan. 31 - the four-member Kings school board will have a new member filling McKiernan's seat. The board Tuesday went into executive session - as allowed under Ohio school law's provisions for school boards pertaining to personnel matters - to discuss their interview questions for applicants.

Applications are due Jan. 24 for the school-board seat: The board has decided to interview all eligible candidates who file an online application for the board seat. The application is expected to be posted on the Kings website later today. The deadline for filing an application is 4 p.m. Jan. 24.

How the new member will be chosen: Applicants must be at least 18 years old, residents of the Kings School district and registered voters. The board's choice of a new member will be made during a public vote on Jan. 31, and the chosen applicant will serve out the remainder of McKiernan's four-year term to December 2019.

Diversity committee will work with officials: An existing Kings diversity committee, whose members include some minority school parents, will work with district officials in formulating new programs and activities designed to improve racial sensitivity in the school system.