A new leader of Moray Council will be chosen by Christmas.
Council leader Allan Wright resigned on Tuesday as head of the Conservative/Independent administration after councillors voted 16 to eight in favour of saving Milne’s High in Fochabers and against any more school closures for the next five years.
Mr Wright will stay on as leader until December to fulfil his obligations to the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA).
He is also staying on in his role as councillor for Heldon and Laich.
Mr Wright’s fellow councillors are staying tight-lipped about any potential successors but have said a new leader will be in place before the end of the year.
Buckie independent councillor Gordon Cowie said: “There’s nothing concrete, there has been discussions but there’s nothing to report as yet. We will have somebody in place before Christmas.”
Fochabers Lhanbryde councillor Douglas Ross is one of three Conservative members of the administration, including Mr Wright.
He says there is no guarantees Mr Wright’s replacement will be from his party.
He said: “I think in terms of the discussions we had when we first introduced the coalition, it was clear that councillor Wright was most suited to take the role given his previous experience as deputy convener.
“It wasn’t deemed to be a Conservative position and there’s no reason why it should continue to be a Conservative councillor.”
Heldon and Laich independent councillor Chris Tuke echoed Mr Ross’ comments.
He said: “We’ll just need to wait and see what happens. He [Mr Wright] is staying on till the end of the year, and it will be a very sad loss. His control of the budget has been very responsible if not always popular.
“It is about the best man for the job, not what political persuasion they come from. That’s why we are independent councillors, because we want to find the best person for the job, it’s not about party-political reasons.”
The Press and Journal understands Independent administration members met yesterday but, in the end, did not decide on a candidate from within their group.