School Board seats new members, is deadlocked on vote for President

The Mat-Su School Board seated newly elected members, Thomas Bergey and Jubilee Underwood, at its regularly scheduled November meeting. Bergey was re-elected to the school board, and Underwood takes the seat formerly held by Sarah Welton, who did not run for re-election.  Per Alaska state law and School Board policy, within seven days after the certification of a regular election, the Board must meet and elect one of its members as President.

This proved difficult for the new Board.  Members Ole Larson and Ryan Ponder were both nominated for the office of President, but the vote ended in a tie.  School Board policy states that after a five minute recess, a second vote may be taken. That vote also ended in a tie.  The board recessed once more and voted for a third time.  After the inability to reach a consensus, the Board was dismissed to reconvene in December to try again.

Despite the cancellation of official board business, the district used the evening to recognize key school support staff for excellence in their work.  Su-Valley Custodian, Joanne Cassidy, was among those honored at the event.  Cassidy was noted for her outstanding work and her strong work ethic.