Anne Marie Vorbach answered interview questions at Tuesday’s Marshall School Board meeting. Vorbach was chosen by a majority of board members to fill the vacant seat on the school board.

MARSHALL — A new member of the Marshall School Board will officially take office in February. On Tuesday evening, school board members interviewed applicants to fill a vacant seat on the board. A majority of board members voted to appoint Anne Marie Vorbach to fill the vacancy.

“I was encouraged to serve by folks in the community, and I think it’s important to be of service,” Vorbach told school board members during her interview. “I think when you care about what’s happening in the schools, and there’s an opportunity to serve, I want to step up and do that.”

At their first January meeting, Marshall school board members interviewed a total of three applicants to fill the remainder of former school board member Bill Mulso’s term. Mulso resigned from the school board in December, after accepting a new job with public accounting firm Hoffman & Brobst. Mulso said he wanted to avoid potential conflicts of interest, because the firm conducts the school district’s annual audit.

The interviewees at Tuesday’s board meeting were Vorbach, Ryan Schlenner, and Ben Walker.

“I want to thank all three of you for applying, and for your willingness to serve on this open term for the remainder of this year,” school board chairman Matt Coleman told applicants. “I would encourage you to run (for election) in November, too.”

Applicants took turns answering questions from the school board, including questions about their experience in other community organizations, and why they decided to apply for the school board seat.

Walker is an instructor at Southwest Minnesota State University. He is currently the Marshall PTA treasurer, and serves on the Marshall-Lyon County Library Board, as well as committees at SMSU.

“Public education is important to me. I think it’s incredibly valuable to the health of our community, and the school board is a part of that,” Walker said. Walker also has children attending Marshall Public Schools, and he said he wanted to see Marshall schools continue to thrive.

Schlenner has been part of several community organizations. He’s currently president of the Marshall Area Youth Baseball Association, is involved with the Marshall Hoops Club, has coached youth sports, and has served on the First Lutheran Foundation board. Schlenner also has children who attended or are attending MPS, and he said he was interested in helping the school district.

“I’m just excited about the Marshall community and the Marshall school system. I think we have opportunities to continue to grow, and be effective leaders here to push things forward,” Schlenner said.

Vorbach said she was interested in joining the school board to help serve the community. She currently serves on the Marshall-Lyon County Library Board, and represents MLCL on the Plum Creek library system board. She has gotten involved with the school district as her children attended MPS, and has taught yoga in the community. “A big part of my community involvement is working with a group called the MORE Network, working on kind of anti-racism initiatives in the community,” she said.

Vorbach said she understood that serving on the school board meant working together with fellow board members, even if they disagreed on something, and then moving forward together after the school board votes on an issue.

“Governance has to happen so that things can move forward, and we bring our best efforts to it,” she said.

School board members wrote their choices to fill the vacant board seat on closed ballots at Tuesday’s meeting. The results were then read out. Vorbach received a total of three votes, from board members Bill Swope, Jeff Chapman and Sara Runchey. Schlenner received a total of two votes, from board members Sara Brink and Matt Coleman.

Board members then voted to formally appoint Vorbach to the school board. Her first official meeting as a school board member will be in February.

Vorbach said she hopes to focus on fulfilling the duties of a school board member for this year. “I’m not going to try to advance a personal agenda,” she said.

Vorbach said she hasn’t decided yet if she plans to run for election to a full term on the school board this fall. If she does run, it won’t be her first time. Both Vorbach and Walker were among the seven total candidates who ran for Marshall School Board in 2022.