5 candidate vie for empty school board seat

PALMER — The Mat-Su Borough School District School Board has posted the list of five candidates who qualified to apply for the vacant seat on the school board in District 5.

Jim Chesbro, Chris Elder, Ryan Ponder, Jessica Vaudreuil-Kim and Jonathan Wold have made the first cut. The five candidates will each be given five minutes to present themselves to the school board at the Feb. 6 meeting. Current School Board members will then vote on which of the five candidates will fill the seat vacated by Yvonne Ruth.

Chesbro ran for the State House in November, and is now throwing his hat in the ring for the school board.

“You must always keep in the front of you mind, what is going to build our best and brightest, well-adjusted kids, the one to see that we leave this a better place then where we came,” Chesbro wrote in his application.

Elder raised three children in Big Lake who all graduated from Houston High School.

“I have been on several boards over the years. These experiences have shown me that being prepared and having an open, unclouded mind, is crucial in being an effective board member,” Elder wrote in his application.

Ponder has served his country in a variety of arenas, and also holds a Juris Doctor degree.

“Over the years I have played a role in facilitating the creation and drafting of policy at the state and federal level. Additionally, through my service on a six-man, special operations team in Iraq as well as my experience working for a congressman in Washington D.C., I have developed a strong sense of interpersonal relationships, recognizing how to effectively work with and communicate with all people at all levels,” Ponder wrote in his application.

Vaudreuil-Kim cited her expertise on a wide variety of topics including English, history teacher training courses, and Alaska studies.

“I have educated both adults and children in a wide range of schools and administrative settings such as: award-winning boarding schools, international private schools, homeschools, public schools (including remote Alaska) universities, and Christian schools,” Vaudreuil-Kim wrote in her application.

Wold was drawn to the School District’s website that says ‘we prepare all students for success.’

“My strengths in building connections with the faculty, students and parents; by using technology to enhance classrooms and instruction based on the needs of students are just a few things I can offer the Mat-Su District 5 schools,” Wold wrote in his application.

Contact Frontiersman reporter Tim Rockey at tim.rockey@frontiersman.com.