Superior School Board appoints new member
Jun. 13—SUPERIOR — The Superior Board of Education on Monday, June 12 appointed Diana Smith, a mother of four with a master's degree in nursing education, to fill the seat left vacant when board member Mike Meyer resigned due to work conflicts.
Smith will be sworn in at the July board meeting and serve the remainder of Meyer's term through April 2024.
Nine people applied for the vacant seat,
including former school board member Christina Kintop and Shawnu Ksicinski, who ran for a school board seat in April. Each applicant was asked the same six questions. Most appeared in person, although one applicant's answers were prerecorded and another answered virtually from home due to illness. Smith was chosen through a three-step voting process following the interviews.
A Superior High School graduate, Smith has worked at Essentia Health, St. Luke's and Twin Ports Dermatology; she coached youth basketball and soccer; and she is a member of the Great Lakes Elementary Parent Teacher Organization, according to her application letter.
Her motivation to join the board was to serve the community and advocate for students.
"I am invested, very much so, with my own children, but not only them. I think of all the children," Smith told the board. "I feel that I can see things fairly, I can see things from other perspectives."
In her leadership role as a nurse manager, Smith said she dealt with conflicts by hearing the concerns from both sides and bringing them together to open up lines of communication.
One of the questions dealt with the upcoming reconfiguration of elementary school boundaries, set to begin in late summer. Looking at the whole and seeing what's going to be best, while addressing the budget is important, Smith said. So is communication.
"I imagine there's gonna be a lot of parents who are very passionate about this," she told the board. "I think it is going to be really important to hear from them and how this will impact their daily lives."
School Board President Steve Olson said he was surprised at the number of applicants seeking the seat.
"I think it speaks well for people in the community that want to be part of the education of the students in our community. It shows that they have a passion. They want to serve," Olson said.
One reason for the large applicant pool, he said, may be the fact that this was an interim role, a chance to get involved before seeking a three-year term.
"We have excellent applicants and just can't say enough of them wanting to step forward and be part of the organization," Olson said.
In other action, the school board:
* Approved overnight field trips to Italy for high school students and to California for eighth grade students in June 2024. The trips would be paid by families and through fundraising.
* Approved a list of new hires including head girls lacrosse coach Dustin Anderson and Patrick Gillen's transfer from transportation supervisor to director of transportation.
* Voted to increase the cost of staff and student lunches by a dime as of July 1.
* Approved a number of policy changes to comply with federal law updates.
