Scott Williams, swilliams@wolfrivermedia.com
Former Shawano School Board member Bruce Milavitz on Tuesday captured a newly created at-large seat on the board.
Unofficial final results in Tuesday’s election show Milavitz defeating retired teacher Mart Grams by a margin of 1,119-1,026.
Milavitz will serve a one-year term in the at-large seat, after which the position will be back on the ballot in 2018 for a full three-year term, as approved last fall in a district realignment.
School district officials created the at-large seat as part of a strategy to improve representation in a geographic region where no school board candidates were coming forward.
Three other seats representing specific areas were filled Tuesday in uncontested races for incumbent board members Michael Sleeper and Beth McFarlane and newcomer Alysia Pillsbury.
School board members serve three-year terms and get paid $60 a meeting.
For the at-large seat, voters throughout the district went to polls Tuesday to choose between Grams and Milavitz.
Milavitz had emphasized his experience as a former board member, while Grams said he would bring a teacher’s perspective to board issues.
Milavitz, a local business owner, previously served on the school board for one term before losing a re-election bid. In April 2016, he finished in fourth place in an election to fill three board seats.
Grams was making his first run for elected office after spending 29 years in the school district as a teacher. He taught social studies, economics and government, including 10 years at Shawano Community High School.