A Santa Ynez Valley businessman has been appointed to fill a vacancy on the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District Board of Education.
Loren Ollenburger was picked from a field of three candidates who applied for the seat left empty by Dr. John Baeke’s resignation effective July 1.
The other two applicants were Ness Hamaoui, a general contractor and developer with seven years residing in the district, and Steve Thompson, a carpenter who has lived in the district for 27 years.
Ollenburger, who moved to the Santa Ynez Valley in 2017, has had a child enrolled in the high school for the past two years plus the next seven years.
He co-founded God’s Country Provisions in Buellton.
Before moving to the Santa Ynez Valley, he was involved with the President’s Advisory Committee and Finance Committee Chairman at St. Junipero Serra Catholic School in Rancho Santa Margarita.
He said during Tuesday night’s meeting that it has been important to him to serve the community in various ways.
Board members said they believed it was important to have a parent and someone with previous experiences serving on a board.
“I also think one of the critical things that we need is a very good lens on finances…I think that will help us tremendously as we make some significant decision about financials in the current year and the future,” said Jan Clevenger, board president.
Ollenburger earned a bachelor’s degree from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and a master’s of business administration from USC.
The new board member took the oath office and joined the panel for the remainder of Tuesday’s meeting.
He will serve until the term expires in November 2022, along with the terms now filled by Clevenger and board member Tory Babcock.
The district has two schools, Santa Ynez Valley Union High and the continuation Refugio High. Students come from six feeder districts in the Santa Ynez Valley.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.