Six vie for empty school board seat

MAT-SU -- What do a nurse, a mom, a technical and engineering consultant, a professional counselor, a credit union manager and an investment advisor have in common?

They all want the same job. One that demands long hours, promises lots of late nights and pays relatively little: a seat on the Mat-Su Borough School Board.

The seat became open in January after board member Carl Gatto was elected to serve as a state representative. Eleven Valley residents submitted applications for the job, but the school board narrowed that list down to six at Wednesday night's meeting. After reviewing all 11 resumes and letters of intent, each board member submitted a list of their favorite six applicants, and the top vote-getters were chosen to go on to the next step.

Those six will be interviewed at a special school board meeting tomorrow starting at 6 p.m. Each applicant will have about a half hour to answer a series of questions the board chose by secret ballot earlier this month and have been kept confidential. The public is welcome to watch the interviews, but the board will do the rest of the hiring process behind closed doors. The new member is expected to be seated on Feb. 5, and will serve on the school board until next October's local election, when the seat will appear on the ballot.

Those chosen to be interviewed for the positions were (in no particular order):

Bryan Gearry, a technical and engineering consultant and current member of the school district's Career & technical Education Advisory Board

Patricia Hogan, a nurse and PTA representative on Department of Education and Early Development committees

Konnie Shuey, a parent and volunteer

Al Strawn, general manager of a credit union, member of the MTA board of directors and former Mat-Su Borough Assembly member

Sarah Welton, a licensed professional counselor and volunteer for diversion programs for youths

Jack Williams, an investment advisor and member of Valley Hospital's Foundation Board.

Shuey was one of two candidates who ran unsuccessfully against incumbent board member Mike Chmielewski for Seat E in the last election. The other candidate in that race, Carolyn Enloe, was not among the list of applicants at Wednesday's meeting. Neither was former board member Helene Antel Brooks, who had been considered a contender for the seat.

To be eligible for the position, an applicant had to be a Valley resident, be eligible to vote in the Valley, not be employed by the school district, and had to turn in an application by 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 10.

The applicants' names were announced during what was at times an emotional school board meeting, as the board struggles to meet demands in the midst of a $3 million deficit and deals with the fallout from recent lay-offs. So why would anyone want to step in and serve at such a time?

One candidate, Patricia Hogan, wrote in her letter of intent, "I have worked under stress in the past and feel obligated to return to my community any talents I have available." She also wrote, "A little organized chaos is the norm for me."

Another candidate, Sarah Welton, admitted that a slot on the board at this moment in time "would be very hard to step into … We're not riding on an emotion where people are happy." However, Welton said education is something that is very important to her, and that her dedication to that cause would "outweigh any negatives that might be forthcoming." She said listening to public testimony at the last board meeting was difficult, as many speaker were upset following recent lay-offs.

"But a lot of times, I think listening is the most important thing you can do," Welton said.