Steve Gosar appointed to Albany County School Board
The board filled its vacant position Tuesday, choosing Gosar from a field of 16 applicants and four interviewees.
The Albany County School Board added Steve Gosar to its ranks, appointing him to fill the vacancy left by former trustee Mark Bittner.
A financial adviser with Edward Jones, Gosar spoke about the importance of education and his own close ties to the educational system during an interview with the board Tuesday night.
“The wellbeing of a community is measured by how good the education system is and I’d like to be a part of that,” Gosar said. “I serve on a number of boards and some charities here in town. I love working in a group and education is my passion. I think it’s a vital part of our community, and it's important for all of us to step up and take a tour.”
Gosar grew up in Pinedale and played basketball for the University of Wyoming. He went on to coach the Golden Eagles at College of Southern Idaho.
The board interviewed Gosar alongside three other candidates for the position. Board members had originally identified five finalists out of a pool of 16 applicants, but one finalist withdrew before the interviews Tuesday.
Following the interviews, the board went into executive session — and stayed there for nearly an hour. When the board reconvened and named Gosar the appointee, Chair Janice Marshall praised the pool of candidates.
“I am so impressed with the quality of candidates that we had; it was a very difficult decision for us to make,” she said. “Remember that we will have an election in 2022 and I would encourage each one of you to consider running in that election because I think you would all be great candidates for the school board.”
A few of the applicants, including Gosar, ran for school board during the 2020 general election. If Gosar now wishes to keep his seat, he will have to run and win in 2022, in an election less than a year away.
Gosar joins the board during a tumultuous semester. COVID-19 and the district’s response to it have dominated school board meetings, brought angry crowds to those meetings, and briefly placed Laramie High School in the national spotlight.
Neither Gosar nor any of the other candidates mentioned COVID-19 specifically during their interviews, but they all addressed the atmosphere surrounding the board and many commended the board’s handling of diverse views.
“I think this is a very close knit community,” Gosar said. “And we welcome the community’s input. And we need their input, need their help to make this as good of an education experience for all of our students.”
He added he was ready to serve.
“Anytime you serve on the board, there’s a very heavy time commitment and that’s something that I don’t take lightly,” Gosar said. “But I’ve never approached anything coming in and not given it my full effort.”
Steve Gosar is the brother of Albany County Commission Chair Pete Gosar.