Updated Dec. 2, at 10 p.m.
The Haines Borough School board on Tuesday voted to add Corrie Stickler to their number after interviewing five candidates for an open seat.
Stickler, a Haines school alumna, told board members she has two kids in the school and is motivated to take an active role in their education.
“It just felt like the right time,” she said.
She will serve out the remainder of a term which is up for election in October of 2026. Stickler told board members she has a fifth grader, third-grader and another entering kindergarten next year, so if the board position is a good fit she’d be happy to stick around and run for the seat “indefinitely, as long as you’ll have me. As long as I feel like I’m making a difference and can contribute.”
Stickler was among five candidates interviewed for the open seat including: Burl Sheldon, Lynzee Swinton, Jess Crowe and Sean Bell.
Board members went into executive session to deliberate after the interviews before returning and voting unanimously for Stickler. A plaque bearing her name was quickly set out in front of an open seat at the board’s table, prompting laughter and jokes from some that the outcome had been pre-determined.
But then district administrative assistant Tiana Perry-Traudt waved a bundle in the air of name cards she had printed, one for each candidate, prompting more laughter.
Board members told the other candidates that it was not an easy decision.
“We argued,” said board member Kevin Shove.
Board president Michelle Sloper told the other candidates that there would be open board seats in October and she hoped they’d run for an open seat.
The seat Stickler is taking was vacated by former school board member Mark Jamison, who resigned in October. He is due in court on civil cases and criminal misdemeanor charges that he violated protective orders filed by members of his immediate family, including twice on school grounds.
The next hearing in the misdemeanor case was scheduled Dec. 3 in the Haines courthouse.
Original story
School board members are set to publicly interview five applicants for a recently-vacated seat on the Haines school board on Tuesday.
Burl Sheldon, Lynzee Swinton, Jess Crowe, Corrie Stickler and Sean Bell all submitted letters of interest in filling the seat for the next year before it is opened up for public election again.
Sheldon, Swinton and Crowe included resumes with their letters. According to his resume, Sheldon was a math and science teacher for four years in high school and middle schools in Skagway, Haines and on Prince of Wales Island. He also has extensive experience as a grant writer and working in finance and business management. Swinton worked for the school district for six years as a paraprofessional, activities director and coach. Currently she is a behavioral health office manager for SEARHC. In her cover letter, she said she and her husband plan to watch their daughter go through the Haines school system, so she has a vested interest in the success of the schools.
Crowe is a parent of two students in the district. She highlighted her involvement in the classrooms and coaching the middle school cross-country team this year. The family also runs a fishing tender and has participated in the migrant education program, which she said has given her insight into the strengths and challenges the district faces.
Stickler is also a parent of two students in the district. In her letter, Stickler said she has nearly two decades of experience in commercial architecture and has helped to design several educational facilities in Southeast and Southcentral Alaska. Working in those districts has given her insight into what communities need from an educational facility and how to cultivate learning environments, she wrote. More recently, Stickler said she served on the playground design committee, attended student advisory council meetings as a parent advocate and participated in the school district’s strategic planning session last year.
Bell also has several children in the school system. He said he sees the vacancy as an opportunity to support them, and the community.
The board is scheduled to interview each candidate publicly during its Tuesday meeting which begins at 6:30 p.m. in the school library. A zoom link will be posted at www.hbsd.net or can be found here for those who cannot attend in person. After the interviews, the board will go into executive session to discuss the candidates. Then they’ll appoint a new one in a public vote.
The seat was vacated after school board member Mark Jamison resigned in October. He is due in court on civil cases and criminal misdemeanor charges that he violated protective orders filed by members of his immediate family, including twice on school grounds.
The next hearing in the misdemeanor case was Dec. 3 in the Haines courthouse.