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Ketchikan school board appoints Stephen Thomas and Paul Robbins Jr. after public interviews
Summary
After interviewing seven candidates in public sessions and holding an executive session, the Ketchikan Gateway Borough School Board appointed Stephen Thomas and Paul Robbins Jr. to fill two open seats. The board used ranked ballots to narrow seven applicants to three finalists, then selected the two appointees; both were sworn in at the meeting.
The Ketchikan Gateway Borough School Board on April 23 appointed Stephen Thomas and Paul Robbins Jr. to fill two open seats on the board following a public interview process and subsequent votes.
Board President Catherine Tatsuta opened the candidate portion of the meeting by describing the procedure: candidates would be interviewed in turn, each given 15 minutes, and the board would use ranked ballots to narrow the field. "We have 7 candidates ... each candidate has 15 minutes and the board has a list of 9 questions," Tatsuta told applicants before interviews began.
The board conducted public interviews of seven applicants. After an executive session to compare and contrast candidates, the board returned to open session, used a ranked-choice step to reduce the field to three finalists (Stephen Thomas, Paul Robbins Jr., Lindsey Johnson), and then held a second vote to select two appointees. The clerk tallied ballots and the board announced that Stephen Thomas would be appointed first; a subsequent vote selected Paul Robbins Jr. as the second appointee. Both appointees were administered the oath of office at the meeting by Superintendent Michael Robbins and took their seats on the board.
Board members described the process publicly as transparent and structured: the clerk distributed ranked ballots for the first round (top three ranked choices scored 3–2–1) and then a second round to pick the two final appointees. The board first met in executive session to compare candidates under the authority cited in the motion (the board referenced the Alaska Supreme Court decision City of Kenai v. Kenai Peninsula Newspaper and Board Policy 9321 when moving into executive session), then reconvened to announce and ratify the appointments in open session.
The newly seated members were sworn in at the meeting. President Tatsuta asked each to repeat the oath of office, and the board then recessed briefly before continuing the regular agenda. Board members asked appointees to submit committee preferences by the following Monday to allow the president to assign members to standing committees for the remainder of the term.
The board said the appointments fill seats for the remainder of the current term; no additional changes to term lengths were announced at the meeting.
The board's selection completes a multi-step appointment process the board adopted for filling unexpected vacancies: public application, timed interviews, executive session review and ranked-ballot voting. The board invited all unsuccessful applicants to run in the fall election.
