ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Anchorage School Board has picked a former chief finance officer for the Anchorage School District to serve on the panel.
Mark Foster has been selected from of a field of 32 candidates, school board President Starr Marsett said in a statement Sunday.
Foster takes the spot on the seven-member school board vacated by Bettye Davis, who resigned last month, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
The board interviewed candidates for nine hours in an open meeting Saturday, Marsett said.
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The board voted for Foster 4-2 over Margo Bellamy, a former head of the district’s Equal Employment Office, the Daily News reported.
Board members chose Foster because of his knowledge of school district budgets, Marsett said. Foster served as the district’s top finance official from 2013-2016.
“He has an insight into the budget that the board probably doesn’t have,” Marsett told the Daily News.
Board members also liked that Foster has said he won’t run again for the seat in April, Marsett said.