School board picks Scott

PALMER — After multiple rounds of balloting Wednesday night, the Mat-Su Borough School District School Board selected Tiffany Scott as its newest member.

“The success of our community is directly related to the success of our students,” Scott said during the five minutes she was allowed to speak to the board during the meeting.

Scott was one of five candidates in the running. Seven people had initially applied, but two withdrew in advance of Wednesday’s special board meeting. Also on the list were Pete LaFrance, a technology coordinator with the Anchorage School District; a pair of attorneys, Rachel Gernat and Helene Antel; and Michael Rovito, who works for the Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority.

Scott is a 2003 Colony High School graduate who helped the Knights softball team notch its first postseason win in program history. She went on to play collegiate softball at Central Arizona College before returning to Alaska, where she worked in Kotzebue in various capacities, including as a cheerleading coach and at the Red Dog Mine. She now works for Nana Development Corp.

She said she researched school districts closely when she and her husband were looking for a place to settle and raise their two young children.

“We found the Valley schools were still performing consistently above state and national standards,” she said.

She replaces former board member Erick Cordero, who resigned to focus more on his family and his day job. During his tenure, Cordero had been the youngest member of the school board and he has said he thought his youth offered the board a valuable perspective.

“I am very glad that the board chose a young person that not long ago attended Alaska’s public school system,” he said in a text message soon after the board made its choice.

The interview process Wednesday night was relatively short, but each candidate was asked to respond to a series of written questions. Question No. 5 related to the district’s policy to favor “school choice.” Scott said she hoped her local neighborhood school would be able to serve her children.

“However, … until you have enrolled your child in school, it is difficult to know which educational setting will best fit their needs. Knowing that the district has a number of different settings, I am confident this district can meet their needs,” she said.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270 or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.