Peoria school district seeks new board member who is 'temperamentally ready to govern'
Download mp3 (1.37 MB)Residents in the Peoria Unified School District have until 4:30 p.m. Aug. 28 to submit an application to finish the term of a resigning governing board member.
Peoria is among the largest districts in Arizona, with roughly 36,000 students.
Applications to serve the final 16 months of Rebecca Hill’s school board term have to be submitted in person at Peoria district headquarters. Eligible applicants are adults registered to vote who have lived for at least one year within the district boundaries.
Maricopa County School Superintendent Steve Watson will eventually pick the replacement. Top qualifications are herding dollars into classrooms and a commitment to improving Peoria.
Candidates should be 'temperamentally ready to govern'
“But the last one, which I think speaks to the politics of it all, is we want you to be temperamentally ready to govern,” Watson said.
He said this means being thoughtful, cautious and polite while enduring the job’s challenges.
The Peoria school board can recommend up to three candidates for Watson to appoint.
Watson said he still plans to interview every eligible applicant.
When there's a school board vacancy, Watson can take the local body’s recommendation for a replacement or appoint his own choice.
Watson said he recently did the latter on the Mesa school board, which oversees another large district.
“This experience with Peoria … Every situation is unique, every school district is unique. But my team and I, we’re pretty comfortable doing this," Watson said.
