Incumbents hang on in Maple board race

Preliminary results show both incumbents held onto their seats on the Maple School Board. Voters cast 919 votes for David D. Paulus of Brule, 838 for Kim R. Pearson of Poplar and 620 for newcomer Joyce Hood-Orlowski of Iron River. The results won’t be final until canvassing takes place Tuesday.

Both Paulus and Pearson have served one term on the board. It takes time to learn the workings of the school board, district policies, subcommittee functions and the strengths and challenges for the district, Pearson said.

“I think it will be very beneficial to now expand and move forward on those things,” she said.

One of the board’s immediate goals is developing an employee handbook that meets the needs of district employees, Pearson said, and long-term goals include providing a high quality work and learning environment with a focus on the student and giving them the best education possible.

“It is going to be a challenge with the budget cuts that we face but people have creative ideas and we all need to be open to them and consider everything that seems reasonable,” the Poplar woman said.

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