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Romagnolo’s board seat filled

Jill Darby

Madeline Fernald will replace Stacy Romagnolo on Lake Tahoe Unified School District’s Board of Education, effective Aug. 6.

In a unanimous vote Monday, the board appointed Fernald to the interim position, which will end with the Nov. 6 election.

Two of five board seats will be up for election.



Board President Wendy David will complete her term but announced last week her candidacy for a second term. The seat formerly occupied by Romagnolo also will be up for grabs.

Fernald, a tutor coordinator and grant director at Lake Tahoe Community College, said she intends to run in the November election and hopes to serve a full term on the board.



“I am really dedicated to education,” she said. “In the spring when I found out there were going to be two openings, I thought, ‘I’d really like to do that.’ Of course I didn’t realize at the time that Stacy would be leaving.”

Fernald moved to South Shore in 1998 with her husband, Steve, and two children. She has a bachelor’s degree from University of Wisconsin and a master’s degree from University of North Florida. She is a California-certified biology teacher and worked as an instructional aide for nine teachers at Sierra House Elementary.

Romagnolo resigned from the board July 2 due to conflict of interest, when her husband Mark became a likely candidate to replace Virginia Matus-Glenn as principal at Sierra House Elementary School. Mark Romagnolo, former vice principal at South Tahoe High School, was hired last month for the Sierra House position.

Five candidates applied to complete Stacy Romagnolo’s board term. George Drake, Fernald, Manuel Jimenez, Sue Novasel and Kate Shurson were interviewed during Monday’s open session board meeting.

“Interviews were 20 minutes and they each were asked the same 10 questions,” Lake Tahoe Unified Superintendent Diane Scheerhorn said. “I assisted the board in a process in which they looked at each of the strengths and challenges of each candidate. The board members individually did priority lists. The lists indicated that Madeline was No. 1 from every board member. The board had an open vote and selected her.”

Scheerhorn said all of the applicants were well-qualified.

“We feel very pleased that we had five community members apply for the position,” she said. “We think Madeline will be an asset. She also works at our community college. She has children in the school system. She’s been an aide at the schools and an active parent. We feel very fortunate to have someone of her quality wanting to be on the board.”

Fernald said she looks forward to joining the board and contributing her experience with local, state and federal grants, as well as community and business communication.

“I’m very excited about it, being able to set policy in a really positive direction,” Fernald said.

Board President Wendy David said she was pleased with Fernald’s interview.

“She had a good educational background,” David said. “She understood the role of a board member. She had a keen interest in the future of the school district and understood the issues and challenges that are facing our district. She seems like she has a good, strong, positive outlook for the future of our district.”


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