SPS board delays filling vacancy

The Spokane Public Schools board needs more time to fill its vacancy.

Dozens of interested parties tuned in to the board’s Zoom meeting Wednesday night, expecting to hear who would be replacing Kevin Morrison on the five-member board.

Instead, they heard an apology from board President Jerrall Haynes, who said the board needs a few more days.

As many as seven days, Haynes said Thursday.

“The plan as of today is to vote next Wednesday,” Haynes said.

If all goes well, the new director will be announced during the regular meeting that night.

“If that changes, I’ll let you know,” said Haynes, who said the current four-member board wasn’t necessarily split.

“I wouldn’t say that we’re deadlocked at all,” Haynes said. “I would say that we’re making sure that this is a clean and thorough process.”

The board interviewed seven finalists on Monday and Tuesday, and there were some expectations of a decision that night.

That didn’t happen as the board failed to reach a decision after a two-hour executive session.

Here are the seven finalists, along with information provided by the district:

• Karl Boettner, administrative law judge for the Washington State Office of Administrative Hearings.
• Jessica Box, director of Field Services for EdReports, an independent nonprofit designed to improve education by providing reviews of K-12 instructional materials.
• Brian Davenport, most recently associate dean for honors and community engagement for Eastern Washington University.
• Erin Georgen, owner and operator of Erin Georgen Graphic Design and a physical therapist assistant for St. Luke’s Rehabilitation.
• Michael Kirk, most recently a chief operations officer and financial officer for a community-building and marketing startup in Spokane.
• Harry Rosenkrantz, a private, licensed mental health counselor and child mental health specialist, and a Circle of Security consultant.
• Aryn Ziehnert, a lecturer in psychology at Eastern Washington.

The vacancy was created by Morrison’s resignation last month.

The appointment will expire in November 2021, although that person could run for election next year.