The Tooele County School Board selected a new member to fill a vacant seat on its board Tuesday after two hours of public interviews and voting,
Alan Mouritsen, 33, of Grantsville, was sworn in Tuesday night, taking the place of Jeff Hogan who recently resigned to accept a work assignment in the Washington, D.C. area for six months.
“It was a positive experience. There were seven other very good candidates,” said Mouritsen about the interview process. “I am excited to join the school board. There are a lot of good things happening in our schools right now.”
Mouritsen is a 1999 graduate of Grantsville High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Pomona College in Claremont, Calif., and graduated from Stanford Law School. He currently is an associate in the Salt Lake City-based law firm Parsons Behle and Latimer.
In his junior year at GHS, Mouritsen was selected as the most valuable player for the GHS state championship football team.
He is the father of four children and has coached little league football, junior jazz basketball, and flag football.
Education runs in Mouritsen’s family. His mother taught in Grantsville schools for 18 years and his brother, Scott, teaches math at GHS.
“At every point along my life’s path, the education I received in the schools of Tooele County School District proved instrumental to my success,” wrote Mouritsen in his letter of application for appointment to the school board. “Serving on the board of education would allow me to play a role in helping today’s students have similar educational opportunities.”
The other seven candidates that applied included Marlene Thomas, Stockton; Barry Pitt, Grantsville; Michael LeFevre, Dugway; Kelly Kennedy, South Rim; Christine Johnson, Grantsville; Darin Griffith, South Rim; and Joe Wright, Grantsville.
The board meeting started with all eight candidates seated at a table facing the board members. The candidates then responded to three questions posed by the school board.
Each board member then voted, with each board member voting for two candidates. The number of candidates was reduced to the top three vote-getters.
Next, two more questions were asked of the candidates and board members cast a second ballot, with each board member voting for two candidates.
In the first round of votes, Johnson received six votes. Griffith and Mouritsen each received three votes.
Johnson, Griffith, and Mouritsen became the finalists.
After the second round of questions, Mouritsen was the winner with six votes. Johnson received four votes and Griffith two votes.
“It was great to see this many people interested in the school board,” said board member Kathy Taylor.
Mouritsen will serve until the end of Hogan’s term, which is January 2015.
“It is too premature to make a decision about running for election,” Mouritsen said.