From left, Mario Ramos, Mitch Lindemann, Jana Selchow and Kevin Smith take their oath of office for the Douglas school board at a special meeting Jan. 3.
From left, Mario Ramos, Mitch Lindemann, Jana Selchow and Kevin Smith take their oath of office for the Douglas school board at a special meeting Jan. 3.
Bruce Whetten Herald/Review
Kevin Smith is the newest member of the Douglas school board.
DOUGLAS — One new board member and three returning board members were sworn into their respective positions at a special Douglas Unified School District organizational board meeting that was held Tuesday, Jan. 3, in the DUSD board room.
Newcomer Kevin Smith joined incumbents Mitch Lindemann, Mario Ramos and Jana Selchow in taking the oath of office for school board seats. Smith fills the seat vacated by Dr. Ed Gomez, who opted to not seek another term on the board.
Ray Borane, who was elected by his fellow board members to a fourth consecutive year as board president, welcomed the new and returning board saying he’s looking forward to working with them this year.
“Mr. Smith, welcome, we’re glad to have you aboard,” Borane said. “I’m looking forward to working with all of you. I also want to thank all the administration for all the hard work they do. We’ve got some rough times ahead in education in the state of Arizona. We’re going to have to be really diligent with our budget. With all the new mandates and the new laws that have come down, funding is going to be critical.
“We’re going to have a tough year. I think this board, which has always been and will continue to be a competent board, will effectively work for their best interest of the reason of why we’re here and that’s the children of the school district as well as our staff. I think we’re committed to the children and the students. The major component of their good education is the staff.”
The board agreed to continue to hold its regular monthly meetings on the first Tuesday of every month, the lone exception being in July when the meeting will be held Wednesday, July 5 instead of Tuesday, July 4.
All meetings will begin at 5 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
Prior to the start of the meeting a moment of silence was held for retired DUSD educators and coaches Dale Kleck and John Necas who passed away over the holidays.
“DUSD has lost two credit educators from our community,” Douglas Unified School District Superintendent Ana Samaniego said.
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