Turlock Unified School District trustee Grady Welch has resigned from his Board of Trustees seat with two-and-a-half years remaining in his term. The reason for Welch's decision remains unclear.

“Mr. Welch gave no reason for stepping down other than there were many extenuating circumstances that prevented him from fulfilling his duties as a trustee,” said TUSD Superintendent Sonny Da Marto.

Welch was first elected to serve on the school board in November 2011. Although Welch did not provide specifics regarding his decision to resign, he began to miss numerous regularly scheduled school board meetings several months ago.

TurlockCityNews.com was unable to reach Welch for comment on his resignation.

As a lifelong resident of Turlock, Welch grew up in Turlock schools and has served on the Turlock Planning Commission and as a member of the Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Committee. Welch is also currently employed as a parole agent with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Division of Adult Parole Operations, assigned to Stanislaus County.

The school board will hold a special meeting tonight to decide how to fill the vacant seat. Two options exist for replacing Welch: either to make a provisional appointment until the November 2015 board election, or to call for a special election.

The appointment option would be significantly cheaper for the District, as they estimate an appointment to cost no more than $500, while a special election could range between an estimated $56,000 and $96,250.

Should the provisional appointment be chosen, the District looks to have a new trustee appointed and sworn in by August 20.

The TUSD Board of Trustees will hold the special meeting at 6:30 p.m. tonight at the Turlock Unified School District Professional Development Center, located at 1100 Cahill Ave. in Turlock.