School board Secretary /Treasurer Brian Clay, Vice President Sara Chapell, and President Anne Marie Palmieri. (Berett Wilber)

The Haines School Board has a new member.

Michael Wald will fill a seat left open after the October election where three candidates ran for four open seats.

After incumbents Brian Clay, Sara Chapell, and Anne Marie Palmieri were re-elected, the board requested letters of interest to fill a one-year appointment.

Michael Wald, who’s lived in Haines for the last eight winters, was the sole applicant. Wald has two children in the Haines School. He has a background in science and environmental education, and runs a guiding company out of Fairbanks in the summer.

“I’m not applying to be on the school board because I have a particular agenda or pet projects,” Wald said. “I’d just like to see what’s happening on the school board and see how I can help with the current work.”

After interviewing Wald, who called into the meeting from Ireland, the board took a vote on whether to approve him. Members voted unanimously to seat him.

After swearing in Wald and the three incumbent members, the board chose officers. Palmieri remains President. Swinton is Vice President. Clay is Secretary-Treasurer.

The board expects to deal with falling enrollment, budget constraints, and hiring a new superintendent this year.