PORT ANGELES — A retired educator and psychology professor has been appointed the new Port Angeles School Board member.
Sandra Long was selected Thursday night by a unanimous vote to fill the seat vacated by Rick Marti, who resigned before he ever served in the position to which he was elected Nov. 3.
Long will be sworn in at Thursday’s board meeting at 7 p.m. in the Central Services Building, 216 E. Fourth St.
She will serve until December 2017.
Much of Long’s professional career has been in public education.
Most recently, she was an associate professor in the Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences at Louisiana Tech University.
In the private sector, she was president and partner of Behavioral Analysis LLC, a psychological services and evaluation consultation firm providing program evaluation and testing services.
Originally from Shreveport, La., Long worked as an early childhood teacher and elementary school teacher.
She has a doctorate in psychology from the University of Alabama, a master’s in counseling from Louisiana Tech University and a master’s and bachelor’s in education from Louisiana State University.
Moved to Port Angeles
She moved to Port Angeles in 2003 and has served as a volunteer for a variety of organizations.
Long has served on such local boards as the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, United Way of Clallam County, Clallam County Chemical Dependency/Mental Health Program Funds, Peninsula Behavioral Health, Peninsula Dispute Resolution Center, Volunteers in Medicine, Port Angeles Forward, Port Angeles Downtown Association, Young@Art, Port Angeles Citizen’s Police and Fire Academy, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, and PEO Chapter FM.
Bond measure
Long said she favored putting a bond measure question before voters to fund high school improvements.
The buildings are patched together, she said, and will need either serious work or replacement.
“You’re going to have to go out and try to get a bond again, and possibly other bonds,” she said.
Long said she was impressed with the district’s school counselor program, full-time kindergarten program and lack of district debt.
“That is an amazing thing to me. I have never worked with a school district that didn’t have debt,” she said.
The district needs to work on test scores and how to use the information gleaned from testing to improve student education, she said.
The board interviewed five applicants for the position.
The other applicants were:
■ Jennifer Burkhardt, general counsel for Olympic Medical Center.
■ T. Scott Brandon, relationship development manager at Volunteers in Medicine of the Olympics and former United Way resource manager.
■ Gary Gleason, a retired Port Angeles High science teacher.
■ James Preston, an attorney and former Central Intelligence Agency foreign intelligence case officer.
Marti, 70, a substitute teacher, resigned Nov. 16 after he was elected over incumbent Lonnie Linn, 60, by a margin of 3,608 votes, or 54.23 percent, to Linn’s 3,045 votes, or 45.77 percent.
At Thursday’s meeting, class size and enrollment reports will be discussed, according to the board agenda.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
