Four members of the Canyons Board of Education were sworn into office on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019 after winning the majority of the votes in the November 2018 General Election.
Also, in a historic decision, the newly empaneled Board voted to elect Nancy Tingey as the first female Board President in Canyons District history.
The atmosphere was celebratory Tuesday night as friends, families, supporters and Canyons District employees attended the first Board of Education meeting of 2019. They came to witness the re-elected and newly elected Board members take their Oaths of Office in the Board chambers of the Canyons Administration Building-East, 9361 S. 300 East. A reception followed the swearing-in ceremony.
The oaths, administered by Megan Allen, chief clerk of the Utah House of Representatives, were taken by Amber Shill, Clareen Arnold, Steve Wrigley, and Amanda Oaks. Shill, Arnold and Wrigley were re-elected to their seats and Oaks replaces former President and inaugural CSD Board member Sherril H. Taylor, who did not run for re-election.
They join Board members Tingey, Chad Iverson and Mont Millerberg on the seven-member governing body of the 34,000-student school district.
“The right to vote is a solemn responsibility,” said Tingey in her opening remarks. “Tonight we honor and celebrate our newly elected members of the Board, as well as those who participated in the democratic process.”
After being sworn in, the newly elected members were invited to address the audience for a few minutes to thank friends and family members, outline their goals for their terms of office, and present philosophies about governance.
Shill, a Utah native with deep roots in civic engagement, was sworn into office to serve a second term representing District No. 2. Shill thanked her family for their support and said her priorities continue to be student achievement and transparency.
Wrigley took his oath to continue representing District No. 5 for a third term. “I promise,” he said, “to continue to be your voice in education and to give my all in this public service.”
Arnold is starting her second term on the Board as the representative of District No. 4. A career educator of 30 years, she says she is humbled to represent a community that “cares about kids.”
Taking her oath for the first time, Oaks, an attorney and classically trained musician, said she believes collaborative partnerships between parents, educators, and administrators create stronger schools and communities.
The closing remarks were delivered by former Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes, a parent of a student at Corner Canyon High. He congratulated Canyons on its successful first decade and urged the Board to always hearken back to the reason the District was founded: To be responsive to the needs and wants of the community and to encourage inspiring educational innovation and high student achievement.
See the District’s Facebook page for a photo gallery of the ceremony and reception.
