Blaine school board seeks candidates

After resignations by Ryan Ford and Don Leu from the Blaine school board were officially accepted during the February 26 board meeting, the school district’s governing body is seeking replacements, with a submission deadline set for 4 p.m. Monday, March 11.

Board districts 4 and 5 are now open for applications, and all prospective board members are required to be U.S. citizens, registered voters and reside within the geographical boundaries of each district. Letters of interest should be submitted by email to comments@blainesd.org or delivered to the district office at 765 H Street.

District 4 is roughly east of Blaine Road and includes a large area of Birch Bay, including the Baycrest and Point Whitehorn neighborhoods. District 5 covers Semiahmoo, Selder and neighborhoods south of Dakota Creek.

The three remaining school board directors, newly-appointed president Cliff Freeman (District 3), vice president Ben Lazarus (District 2), and longest-tenured member Erika Creydt (District 1), will decide who to appoint to the two vacant positions.

District superintendent Christopher Granger said the first round of interviews is set for Friday, March 15. District policy requires the board to appoint new members 90 days after a resignation was officially accepted, but appointments are likely to be made well ahead of that deadline with an impending $2.5 million budget deficit that must be ratified by April.

Any newly appointed members will serve until the next local election in November 2025, when they can then run for reelection. The current term of District 4 board member goes through the end of 2027, and the current term for District 5 runs through the end of 2025.

For more information about serving on the Blaine school board, visit the Washington State School Directors Association website, at wssda.org, or contact the superintendent’s administrative assistant, Tina Padilla, at 360/332-0711.