School board member appointed

The La Conner School Board selected Lynette Cram as its new member, after she applied for the open position and completed a public interview on Monday.

She fills the remainder of the term of Rick Thompson, who retired after serving on the board for 22 years. The search to fill his vacant seat finished with only a single applicant, but the remaining board members were visibly pleased with Cram, as they voted to approve her. She will be officially sworn in on Sept. 19 at the regular meeting.

In the interview, she described herself and answered questions from the board and audience about her goals and leading style. The audience for the hour-long interview consisted of three people, two of whom work at the La Conner Schools.

Cram was born in Mount Vernon, graduated valedic-torian at La Conner High School, earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Saint Martin’s University and later a doctorate from the College of St. Scholastica. She got her Physical Therapy degree from the University of Washington’s School of Medicine. Cram considers herself a “life-long learner.”

Lynette is married to David Cram, who she describes as a long-time La Conner person, and she has four children. Cram is active in multiple communities, coaching and volunteering in both La Conner and Mount Vernon. She also runs two physical therapy clinics and has worked for the Swinomish Tribe as a staff physical therapist for four years. Cram said she loves the La Conner community and schools, with their unique benefits and challenges.

“We have to feel like every student is our only child,” she said, adding that she wants to make sure the students are competitive at the college level and that they want to remain in La Conner.

“We have to be dynamic,” she said, as she stood up to demonstrate her “shorter” height, explaining how her height in athletics taught her to try novel strategies. “The size of the school can be limiting in terms of what we can offer, so we have to think creatively and think outside the box.”

The board’s focus is writing and implementing school policy.

“We were looking for someone who would have the interest of our district in all the decisions made,” board-member Peg Seeling said of the search.

Cram emphasized that her new role will bring a lot of learning for her, and she plans to be open, accessible and ask questions.

“I’m excited about serving the community and school board,” she said.