Kathy McCollum has been elected by the MatSu School Board as their new chairwoman, replacing Tom Bergey, who has served in the role through several challenging years that included legal attacks by the Northern Justice Center on the board for setting high standards and creating processes that honor community wishes.
At the Nov. 20 school board meeting, the first since the Nov. 5 election, reelected members Bergey and Brooks Pitcher were reseated and new member Andrew Shane joined the dais.
McCollum has previously been clerk and vice president of the board. Shane was elected as vice president and Kruse became clerk.
The district has over 19,000 students in 49 schools over 25,000 square miles. The school board’s next meeting is at 6 p.m., Dec. 4, at the MatSu Borough School District’s Central Office, 501 N. Gulkana St, Palmer.
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough is the only one in the state that has aligned its local elections with national general elections.