Former member Paul Rioux is back on the Sitka School Board.
Rioux was appointed by the board to serve out the term of Tristan Guevin, who resigned last month to apply for a teaching job at Pacific High School.
Rioux was one of three applicants who submitted letters of interest in the vacant seat. He previously served one full term beginning in 2019. During his interview Thursday night (9-12-24), Rioux explained that he was in a better place now than when he chose not to run for reelection in 2022.
“I have always intended to come back,” said Rioux. “I wanted to take a break because it was hard on my personal and family life — those were especially trying years. And so I thought that, given my experience, that I might be a good fit to help out a little bit while there’s a gap.”
Rioux has four children, two of whom have graduated, one is a senior, and one is in eighth grade. He told board members that the three main responsibilities of the board were budget, the superintendent, and curriculum, as well as interacting with the public and doing legislative advocacy.
The vote to appoint Rioux was 3-1, with member Tom Williams opposed. Williams said that he preferred to see continuity on the board, and his pick to serve out the term would be Amanda Williams – his daughter-in-law – who is the only candidate to file for one of two open board seats in the October municipal election.
“We have a very short period of time,” said Williams. “How much influence and benefit to the board overall is going to be minimized on such short service. Only one candidate put their name in to run, and that continuity will go from starting here tonight, through the length of the term.”
The third applicant for the vacancy was former board member Elias Erickson. Neither Erickson or Rioux said whether or not they would register as write-ins for the two open full-terms in the municipal election next month. The last day to file as an official write-in is September 26.
Paul Rioux will serve on the board for only one scheduled meeting on October 2, until new board members are seated following the certification of the municipal election on October 8.
