Sunapee — Former School Board member April Royce was appointed on Wednesday night by the board to fill the seat of Heather Furlong, who had resigned in the wake of criminal charges against her husband related to the 2016 School Board election.

Royce was chosen over John Augustine and Gidget Ducharme in a 4-0 vote by the board. Augustine received the third-most votes in the March 14 School Board election for two seats, and several residents spoke at a meeting last month in support of appointing him to Furlong’s seat.

Joseph Furlong is scheduled to appear in district court on May 2 on misdemeanor charges for altering an email days before the 2016 School Board election.

He is alleged to have made the email appear as if were written by another School Board candidate, portraying her in an unfavorable light and possibly contributing to her defeat.

Heather Furlong, who was not charged in the incident, won a seat on the board by a large margin.