By Ryan Spoehr
SLN STAFF
By a unanimous vote, 27-year Whitewater resident Tom Ganser was appointed by the Whitewater Unified School Board to fill a vacancy.
Ganser and another longtime resident, Jean Linos, applied to fill the role that was left vacant by Gretchen Torres’ resignation.
Ganser was appointed in a special meeting conducted by the School Board on Monday night. Ganser and Linos were interviewed by members of the board during the meeting.
“It’s the right thing for me at this point in my life with my interests, my abilities, my work experiences in academics,” Ganser said. “It feels good. It feels right with the understanding that until you have been on the Board of Education, you really don’t know how it operates because there’s much more to it than the monthly meetings. That’s an intriguing, exciting dimension for me.”
Linos, a private business owner in the city, said she had a lot to offer the School Board and the district, including giving a fresh perspective.
“I’ve seen things that I feel like could be improved,” Linos said.
She said things that could be improved include start times in the district, which she said are “incredibly ahead of what research recommends.” She also said that compared to neighboring school districts, there are smaller break times for students, which she would like to help improve.
“I feel like extending the school year by just a little bit would benefit everything,” Linos said.
For more on the filling of the vacancy, check out the Dec. 14 edition of the Whitewater Register.
