Olympia School Board gets new member

Olympia School Board members said they looked forward to getting to know the board's newest member, Allen Miller, after an outside agency appointed him to the post Wednesday.

Miller was one of four applicants considered by the Educational Service District 113 board to replace ex-board member Rich Nafziger. Miller was the only one of the four who had not gone through the Olympia School District's multi-month replacement process, which ended in April after the board failed to reach a majority on one of the final three applicants.

"I guess we're all kind of in the same boat as far as getting to know him and working with him," said school board member Frank Wilson.

The board of ESD 113, a regional agency that assists school districts in Thurston and four other counties, appointed Miller after interviews Wednesday with him and three others: former board member John Keeffe, budget advisory group Chairman Paul Parker and middle school math committee member Theresa Tsou.

Deadlock

The four members of the Olympia School Board deadlocked over the latter three candidates, with board members Carolyn Barclift and Frank Wilson backing Keeffe, and board members Russ Lehman and Bob Shirley backing either Parker or Tsou.

The division fell along the lines of the two sides that emerged among the current board members during the past year, and became particularly noticeable during the November election. Barclift, Nafziger and ex-board member Michelle Parvinen sometimes disagreed with Lehman and Shirley, who question the leadership of the district and how the board conducts its business. Barclift and Nafziger endorsed Frank Wilson in the November election, and Lehman and Shirley endorsed his opponent, Jeff Nejedly.

After the board deadlocked, state law sent the decision to ESD 113, which started a search 90 days after Nafziger's resignation. Miller applied when ESD 113 began its search.

Board members contacted Wednesday said that they looked forward to working with Miller.

"There was always the possibility that (selecting one of the three finalists from the OSD process) would have cemented some sort of divide. With Mr. Miller as the choice, that leaves all that behind, I think," Shirley said.

"I trust that (the ESD) had a process that would be beneficial to our board, and I appreciate their assistance," Barclift said.

Civic history

Miller, 53, has a long civic history, having served as past campaign chairman and past president of United Way of Thurston County, a school board member of St. Michael School, an Olympia planning commissioner, and a board member of the Olympia-Yashiro Sister City Association, South Sound YMCA and other organizations.

Miller said his experience with mediation could be an asset.

"I've been on other boards before; I've been a consensus-maker. I guess I'm a clean slate as far as knowing what the divisions are," he said. "I'm going in with an open mind and hoping to work with people to come to consensus on most decisions, if not all."

Miller's appointment comes at a time when the district is looking at cutting $2 million to $2.5 million to balance an $83.2 million budget.

"I've already reviewed the documents that talks about the various options," Miller said. "I think I can hit the ground running as far as the various issues."

ESD 113 board Chairman John Gott said that the disagreements among the board members played a part in the decision, although the board also took into consideration the district's "tremendous" budget shortfall for 2008-09.

"We tried to weigh what we knew about the candidates with the problems that Olympia had," Gott said. "We thought he was the best fit."

The seven-member ESD 113 board voted 6-0 in favor of Miller, with board member Bill Brumsickle absent. All ESD board members contacted said that Miller's non-involvement in the Olympia School District appointment process was not a factor in their decisions.

Questions

The interviews consisted of 11 questions, with some additional follow-up questions. Some of the questions were directed at the relationship of the board members with one another and with the staff. Questions also covered the budget process and whether the candidates would support bringing in a mediator to assist the board.

"I think what we were trying to think about — and get in a question — is which person is going to do the best thing for the students. We weren't trying to fix the school board's problems," said board member Howard Coble.

Board member Dean Winner said he made the motion to place Miller on the board because he thought Miller would be able to work with all of the board members.

"I think in looking at all the qualifications at all the applicants, all of them were highly qualified. Mr. Miller had the best chance of succeeding in the current environment on the board," Winner said.

"I think his skills of mediating and arbitrating and overall resume was very strong," said board member Rex Comstock.

"We were looking for people whose first priority is kids, and people who could work with other people," said board member Marvin Lam. "Because of the problem there with the existing board, we were looking for someone who could work with them."

Venice Buhain covers education for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-754-5445 or vbuhain@theolympian.com.