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The Methow Valley School Board will choose from three applicants: Kellie Zahn, Ina Clark, and Ben Avery to fill a vacancy on the school board following the resignation of long time school board director Frank Kline.
The school board will interview Zahn, a registered nurse, Clark, a business owner, and Avery, a state director for a nonprofit organization at the next school board meeting on Sept. 25 at 5:30 pm at MVE library.
Kellie Zahn
Zahn, a registered nurse, has two children in elementary school, one of whom receives special education services, according to her application obtained from the school district. She is a member of the School Health Advisory Committee (SHAC), which recently recommended the school form a partnership with local law enforcement agencies to facilitate exchange of information. In the recommendation approved by the school board in spring, law enforcement would inform school administrators of police calls where students are present. The calls would identify students, but not the nature of the police call, allowing school personnel to engage with students about the call without informing parents.
In her application, Zahn sites her experience as a volunteer in classrooms and school events, as well as a volunteer in Loup Loup Ski Patrol for 15 years.
Ina Clark
Clark comes from a working class background and struggled financially before gaining a foothold as a real estate agent and owner of Mountain to River Realty. She has two children that graduated from LBHS but also has personal experience with private school and homeschooling.
Clark’s professional experience includes working as an Outward Bound instructor for eight years and a teacher’s assistant in early childhood education. She has worked with Kiwanis to build a natural-style playground for MVE and volunteered for Classrooms in Bloom and Methow Valley Riding Unlimited. She is also listed as co-president of the board of directors for Room One.
Ben Avery
Avery has worked for the Sierra Club, an environmental organization, since 2007, rising through the ranks to become the state director for Washington. In his application, Avery sites his work in legislative advocacy and offers to do the same for the school district.
Avery has a business degree from the University of Puget Sound. He is the parent of a sixth grader in the school district and has worked as a girls’ basketball coach and Cub Club leader.
The school board met in executive session at their regularly scheduled meeting on Sept. 11. The one hour meeting was “for the express purpose of evaluating the qualifications of candidates for appointment to elective office,” according to Superintendent Grant Storey.
Linda McKay, Deputy Superintendent of North Central Educational Service District, will facilitate the interviews and subsequent closed door deliberations. The school board is expected to announce its selection following the closed door meeting.
