Unalaska's school board has a new look — and a new time slot.
Bob Cummings and Josh Good were sworn in last week as members of the Unalaska City School District's board of education.
Cummings replaced Frank Kelty, who retired from seat C after two terms, including the last as president. Good replaced seat D's Denise Rankin, having unseated her by 16 votes in the Oct. 4 election. Cummings and Good were both elected to three-year terms.
With the new board seated, members elected Fernando Barrera as president in a 4-1 vote, picking him over other nominees Cummings and Carlos Tayag.
Barrera thanked Kelty, who attended the meeting, after assuming the chairmanship.
"Mr. Kelty made a positive difference," said Barrera. "He will be missed. And I know that in the community, he's been a giant."
In return, Kelty congratulated the board's new members.
"I think you'll find it very rewarding," said Kelty. "I felt good about doing this service.
"I'd also like to congratulate our new board president. You can call on me if you need any help with parliamentary procedures," he continued with a laugh. "I'll give you all the shortcuts that I like to use."
Meanwhile, Cherry Tan was reelected unanimously as clerk/treasurer.
Board members also voted to swap their regular meeting time from the third Thursday of every month to the third Wednesday. The change was approved unanimously after a request from Good, who has a conflict on Thursday evenings.
"I'm a volunteer firefighter, and our trainings are every Thursday," said Good. "That's the only other obligation I have throughout the week."
The new schedule means Unalaska's next school board meeting is Nov. 20 at 7 p.m.
Following that, Superintendent John Conwell has released the following schedule: Dec. 18, Jan. 15, Feb. 19, March 11 (budget presentation), March 25 (fourth Wednesday of the month due to spring break), April 15, and May 27 (fourth Wednesday due to graduation preparations).
