Two Battle Ground Public Schools school board members have announced their resignations.
Mavis Nickels, District 4, and Ken Root, District 2, announced on Monday that they are resigning from their positions. Root will step down effective Feb. 26, and Nickels will step down effective March 15.
Both Nickels and Root have been on the school board for eight years.
“Mavis and Ken have given a decade of their lives to supporting the students of our community,” Battle Ground Superintendent Mark Ross said in a news release. “We are forever grateful for their service.”
They’ve have been significant years for Clark County’s third-largest school district. The board of directors oversaw the dramatic ouster of Superintendent Shonny Bria in 2013, multiple failed bond elections that would have paid to build new schools, the longest-running teacher strike in Southwest Washington as teachers picketed for higher pay and, most recently, the redrawing of school boundaries to accommodate overcrowding.
“I’m getting too old for this stuff,” said Nickels, a retired teacher. “I’ll be 80 in May, and my body’s wearing out.”
Root said by email late Thursday that the decision to resign “was a difficult one to make.”
“I feel it is time for a new board member; and if I leave now, a new person could be on the board by appointment prior to my term expiration in November,” Root said. “This can help to ensure that this person is up to the task and willing to serve for the four-year commitment.”
Both said they intend to remain involved in future school district activities.
“Look for me on the street waving signs in support of all future bonds and levies,” Root said.
Applications for the positions are due by March 4. Applicants must be registered to vote and live in the district in which they’re applying. Selected applicants will need to run for the position in November if they wish to retain their seats.
Interested candidates should send a letter of interest, resume and list of three references with contact information to Sandy U’Ren, administrative assistant to the superintendent and board of directors, Battle Ground Public Schools Board of Directors, P. O. Box 200, Battle Ground, WA 98604, or by e-mail to uren.sandy@battlegroundps.org. Applicants should include their full name, physical address and contact information.
