LAKE LINDEN – The Lake Linden-Hubbell Public Schools Board of Education is looking for a new member.

The board accepted Trustee Kevin Codere’s resignation with regret at its Tuesday meeting.

“I’ve enjoyed the past two years and hope I’ve brought some value to the mission of educating our children,” he said. “I wish the district and the board all the best in continuance of this critical mission.”

Codere said this morning it was “a situation where I felt the board was getting undue influence from a citizen.”

The board has 30 days to select a replacement. If it does not, the Copper Country Intermediate School District will.

The board also heard from Schoolcraft Township resident Samuel Buschell regarding a structure Codere had built at the Schoolcraft Township campground.

Buschell had asked the board to look into the matter, which he said cost the district money in the form of seven years’ back taxes.

“You collect the lion’s share of the taxes, you spend the lion’s share of the taxes,” he said. “You should be interested to honor your fiduciary responsibility to the residents and the taxpayers.”

In an email to Buschell, Codere said the wood structure was 192 square feet and lacked bathrooms, insulation, bedrooms, electricity, plumbing and other amenities. In another email, he said he had put up the structure prior to joining the Schoolcraft Township Board after he became concerned about the amount of vandalism at the township park. The township allowed him to serve as a campground host, and allowed him to put up the structure as a camping site.

“After a year of enforcing the regulations of the park the vandalism stopped, the township developed a substantial income stream and the unauthorized use of property by teenagers was minimized,” he said in the email. “…To date I have expended thousands of dollars to accomplish this task and have created an income stream of thousands of dollars for the township.”

Codere said the issue of if the building should be taxed will be addressed at the township’s Board of Review meeting in July.

Board President Patricia Burton said the board is monitoring the situation and expects new information coming soon.

“We are monitoring it locally, and if we’re not satisfied, we’ll move on,” said Superintendent Craig Sundblad.