FAYETTEVILLE -- Nika Waitsman was chosen Monday to fill the empty spot on the School Board.
The board voted 6-0 to appoint Waitsman to an at-large position left vacant when Jim Halsell resigned last month. The position is up for election in September 2016.
Nika Waitsman
Education: Bachelor’s degree in business administration, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Experience: 1989-93 worked in assistant director roles for Central YMCA in North Carolina. Volunteer in Fayetteville schools since 1998, including for parent teacher groups and for a district millage campaign. Fayetteville High School Volleyball Booster Club concession stand manager. Community Kids Closet volunteer director, 2008-14.
Source: Fayetteville School District
"Nika's combination of previous commitments and service to the district and awareness of issues on the horizon made her a real good fit," said Tim Hudson, board president.
Waitsman is the mother of three. Her son graduated from Fayetteville High School in 2013. One daughter is a junior at Fayetteville High School and another is in eighth grade at Woodland Junior High School.
"I'm thrilled. I'm so excited," Waitsman said of her appointment. "I'm overwhelmed because the candidates that I was up against were very impressive."
Waitsman said she has thought about serving on the School Board for a long time. She is interested in the search for a new superintendent to succeed Paul Hewitt, who plans to retire after this school year. She wants to work toward ensuring ninth-graders have a successful transition to the high school.
"One big interest was developing a partnership with the city and the University of Arkansas," Waitsman said. "We have a new opportunity with the new chancellor."
Waitsman, a homemaker, has been an active volunteer with school organizations and was involved in two school millage campaigns prior to the renovation and expansion of Fayetteville High School.
The School Board interviewed five other candidates from a pool of 15 applicants: Mary Lynn Mantooth, a homemaker; Phil Jones, founder of The Joshua Consulting firm and an adjunct faculty member at the University of Arkansas; Leslie Corbell, who coaches teachers for Arkansas State University; Eric Bradford, managing director for the Information Technology Research Institute in the Sam M. Walton College of Business; and Victoria Seaton, assistant professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Pharmacy.
NW News on 10/27/2015