EVERETT — The Everett School Board plans to interview five candidates Thursday to select a replacement for former board president Jeff Russell, who resigned Dec. 1.
The candidates are Caroline Mason, Traci Mitchell, Myrna Overstreet, Kristine Petereit and George Reynolds.
The six-hour meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the school district’s new administration building, 3900 Broadway. Public comment is set for 7:15 p.m.
In advance, each of the applicants submitted written material about his or her qualifications, work history and community involvement, said Pam LeSesne, the school board’s president.
Following the interviews, the board will meet in executive session, then announce its decision in open session about 9 p.m.
The person selected by the school board will serve the two remaining years of Russell’s term.
The candidates are:
Caroline Mason, who has a master’s degree in business administration from Seattle University, works at Motion Marketing in Everett. She serves on the school district’s Fiscal Advisory Council and the Citizens Levy and Bond Committee.
Traci Mitchell manages pharmacy services and infection control at Valley General Hospital in Monroe. She is vice president of the executive board of the Everett Public Schools Foundation and is a PTA volunteer at Gateway Middle School. Her master’s degree in health-care administration is from the University of Washington.
Myrna Overstreet, who is retired, worked for 18 years as an instructor at Everett Community College, teaching about early childhood education and fashion. She also taught in the Mukilteo and Lake Stevens school districts. She has a bachelor’s degree in home economics education from Washington State University and helped found Everett’s Imagine Children’s Museum. Overstreet said if appointed to fill the two-year vacancy, she will not seek election to a full six-year term.
Kristine Petereit is fund development coordinator at the Dawson Place Child Advocacy Center. She has a bachelor’s degree in social science from the University of Washington, is co-president of the James Monroe Elementary Parent Teacher Association and has served on the board of the Everett Public Schools Foundation.
George Reynolds works at Columbia Bank as a specialist in non-profit and municipal finance. He has a master’s degree in business from Seattle University. Reynolds said he believes that his background could be of help to the board in issues such as bonds, budgeting and capital allocation.
The five finalists were chosen from a group of seven who applied for the opening. Two people who previously ran for the school board but were not elected, Rodman Reynolds and Cristopher Larson, were not selected as finalists.
Because of Tuesday’s resignation of a second school board member, Jessica Olson, the decision on whom to appoint to Russell’s position will be made by the three remaining school board members: LeSesne, Carol Andrews and Ted Wenta, who was elected in November.
There’s a Jan. 23 application deadline for anyone interested in applying for Olson’s seat. The school board is expected to interview and decide on who should fill that post on Feb. 3.
Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.
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