Rude appointed to school board

• Tanya Rude

Tanya Rude

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Tanya Rude is the newest member of the Dickinson Public School Board member.

The board appointed Rude, who has only lived in the district since 2011, to an empty seat through a voting process of present members. Morton Krieg was not in attendance due to illness.

“This is really unusual that the board actually gets to vote for its members,” President Kris Fehr said. “Usually the public votes and then we form a board.”

The board unanimously voted to appoint Rude through a ballot process.

Rude is a former public health educator and current stay-at-home mom of two boys, one in kindergarten and another who will start school in the fall.

Rude beat out five other candidates, including former educators and a former school board president.

Voted down were Rich Brauhn, a former Dickinson State University administrator; Karen Thompson, a former DPS teacher; Gery Smith, a financier for American Bank Center; Dean Rummel, a former school board president; and Marya Skaare, the associate director of alumni relations for DSU Alumni and Foundation.

The board voted the pool of six down to three — Smith, Rude and Rummel — and then voted from the three.

“I want to thank everyone who applied and showed an interest because I don’t know if we’ve even had an election where there’s been this many people who have ran for the school board,” Fehr said. “I’m pretty excited that there’s that much interest.”

Rude has lived in Dickinson since she moved from Bozeman, Mont., in May 2011. She attended Montana State University and worked for 17 years at Bozeman Deaconess Hospital.

“I’m throwing my hat in the ring simply because I want to more involved in the community,” she said.

She teaches CPR in the community, but not full time.

Any interested applicants had until 4 p.m. Monday to submit applications to be appointed to the board.

The seat was left open by Scott Staudinger who moved from the district. Rude will serve the rest of his term, through June 2014.

The seats held by Krieg and Jason Hanson will also expire in 2014, when the next school board election will be held.

Rude starts as a school board member at its March meeting.

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