Fronteras seats new APC board, searches for new leader

WASILLA — With eight new faces on its governing board and the search for a new principal underway, Fronteras Spanish Immersion Charter School is slowly beginning to heal after months of divisive infighting.

“It feels a lot more positive and optimistic around here now,” parent and new Fronteras Academic Policy Committee board member Michelle Niland said Thursday. “We’ve gotten a lot of support and guidance from the school district recently, especially in our search for a new principal. They didn’t have to do that, but school board members and Assistant Superintendent Deena Paramo have been so great. I don’t believe the school district is anti charter school at all, as some believe.”

Fronteras Principal Casey Bowen resigned in April, effective the end of the school year, after controversies surrounding a perceived conflict of interest with his wife, Wendy Bowen, being a teacher at the school.

The Bowens, who founded the school three years ago after its success as a school-within-a-school at Larson Elementary, came under fire after a few teachers complained to the APC Board in December that they felt oppressed and that concerns over staff conflicts with Wendy Bowen were falling on deaf ears because her husband was principal.

Casey Bowen, in turn, expressed frustration over how he was evaluated by the Fronteras community, believing some staff and APC board members were on a witch hunt because they didn’t like either him or his wife — or both.

Allegations seemed to come to a head when one of their sons — Doug Bowen — tried to run for the community-at-large seat on the APC board and was rebuffed by election committee members.

Although Doug Bowen believes he was denied a chance to serve on the board simply because of his last name, election committee members said he was not eligible to run for the board because he did not have a child at the school.

During the May 10 APC board meeting at the school off Bogard Road, Doug Bowen said during the public comment period before the new board was seated that then board member Kevin Cochran destroyed his chance of being accepted to a dental school by refusing to write him a letter of recommendation. Bowen believes this proves bias against him.

When all was said and done, however, the outgoing board officially accepted Casey Bowen’s resignation and announced the newly elected APC board members. They include teachers Connie Bamburg and Gwen Schneider and parents Jill Bang, Chris Hamilton, Heather Gluth, Michelle Niland, Marcus Reum, Nicole Wittington-Evans and Andrew Reynolds.

Teachers Jennifer Ward and Joe Dinwiddie will continue to serve on the board until their terms expire next year.

Wittington-Evans was appointed acting chair until permanent officers are chosen at the June 14 meeting.

Reynolds, a computer technician on military jets with three young children at Fronteras, said he’s excited to serve the school in a more official capacity.

“I had decided to run for the board before I even knew there were any conflicts concerning the Bowens,” he said. “I wanted to be more involved in my kids’ education and I believe I have personal and professional attributes that can help. I like to solve problems and I’m pretty even-tempered.”

Like many parents who enrolled their children at Fronteras, Reynolds said he likes the fact that it’s a smaller school and he appreciates parents having more say in how its run.

“I’m hoping that with the new board, we’ll be able to start moving past the issues quickly,” he said. “I’ve heard that some parents are pulling their kids out because of the controversies, and that’s sad. It’s time to move forward.”

Hamilton, too, hopes the new board can help the school feel whole again. The father of one student from Settler’s Bay said he appreciates all the work the Bowens have put into the school.

“I have nothing but positive things to say about both of them,” the state IT manager said. “Wendy is an outstanding teacher and my wife worked for Casey and he’s been a great supervisor.”

With the help of Paramo, a nine-member School Advisory Committee was formed to assist with the principal selection process. Members include three APC board members and a few teachers.

The charter school hopes to have a new leader hired this summer.

Niland, a single mother of a second-grader, said that although a Spanish-speaking principal would be ideal, she hopes they find one who possesses a strong ability to lead the staff and has a clear understanding of charter school finances.

“The principal has to be like a CEO,” Niland said. “They have to have good public relations skills and really good communications skills, but accounting and budgeting is also a huge part of the job. The principal is the manager of the school, but the APC board is the governor. The new principal needs to understand that dynamic.”

Contact K.T. McKee at kate.mckee@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.