Field narrows for Spokane schools board

A couple of professors, a social worker, a nurse and an attorney were among those named Wednesday by Spokane school directors as candidates for an open seat on the five-member board.

The candidates were selected from a pool of 19 people who applied for appointment to the position, left vacant by Don Barlow who resigned after being elected to the state Legislature.

“We had a phenomenal pool of applicants,” Spokane Public Schools Superintendent Brian Benzel said.

“I think there is always more interest when they are appointed” instead of elected. The candidates are:

“Jeffrey Bierman, 39, a physics professor at Gonzaga University. Bierman got his doctorate in experimental nuclear physics from the University of Washington. He has been teaching at Gonzaga since 1996.

Bierman has three children, a first-, a third- and a fifth-grader who attend Franklin Elementary School, where he has served on the school site council and parent-teacher group and was an alternate representative for the district’s citizen’s advisory committee. He also served on the Spokane City Plan Commission and other city boards.

Bierman ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Spokane City Council in 2005.

“Susan Chapin, 50, nurse, infection control coordinator at Sacred Heart Medical Center.

She received her bachelor’s degree from Washington State University.

Chapin has served on the principal’s advisory council at Ferris High School for the past two years and was a representative to the district’s citizens advisory committee and other school district boards. She was named volunteer of the year for Spokane schools for the 2004-05 school year.

She has two children who attend Ferris, a 10th-grader and a senior. Chapin also graduated from Ferris.

“Lorna Walsh, 45, chief development officer at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture.

Walsh holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of New Mexico. She was the capital campaign manager for the Spokane Symphony and Fox Theater and the former director of development for Washington State University prior to taking the museum post in December.

She sought appointment to the school board in 2005, when board member Garret Daggett was appointed.

Walsh has two children in Spokane schools. Her daughter is a third-grader at Hamblen Elementary School, and her son is a senior and student body president at Ferris High School.

“He’s been the one who has encouraged me to do this,” Walsh said.

“Bob Brandkamp, 42, child protective services and child welfare intern, also works as staff auditor for AmericanWest Bank.

Brandkamp holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Illinois and is working on a master’s in social work at Eastern Washington University.

He volunteers as the executive director of Mental Health Advocacy and Education, serves on the Chase Youth Commission and coaches soccer with Spokane Youth Sports Association.

Brandkamp has two daughters, a third-grader at Wilson Elementary School, where he volunteers, and a freshman at Lewis and Clark High School.

“Sandra Altshuler, 47, associate professor of social work at EWU. Altshuler holds a doctorate of social work from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has been a clinical social worker in Illinois and in Spokane.

Altshuler has served on the Chase Youth Commission for the past three years.

She has two children who attend Hamblen.

“Gayle Bender, 35, attorney for the Social Security Administration, Office of Disability Appeal and Review.

Bender is a graduate of Spokane Community College, EWU and Gonzaga University School of Law.

Her son is a first-grader at Lincoln Heights Elementary School, where Bender is the president-elect for the school’s parent-teacher group. She’s been a Cub Scouts leader and a Block Watch representative.

The candidates will be interviewed Wednesday at the district’s administration building, beginning at 5:30 p.m. The board hopes to make a decision and appoint someone to the seat by the Jan. 24 board meeting.

It will be up to the voters to decide whether the person will continue to fill that seat. The candidate will need to run in the November election to fulfill the remainder of Barlow’s term, which expires in 2009.

The candidate could also run for two other seats that will be on the ballot in November. Board members Christie Querna and Barb Richardson have said they will likely not seek another term. Both seats are six-year terms.