Melissa Laramie was sworn in as the Auburn School Board’s newest member.
Laramie represents District 3. King County Superior Court Judge Matthew Williams administered the oath of office on Dec. 13, according to the Auburn School District.
The position was previously held by Laurie Bishop, who was first elected in 2013, but did not run for reelection.
Laramie is the executive director of communications for the Kent School District and she has over a decade of experience working in education, according to the Auburn School District. Laramie’s daughter is a middle school student in Auburn, according to the district.
Upon taking the oath of office, Laramie said she looks forward to working on the school board.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve our Auburn School District students, families and community,” Laramie said. “I believe public education is my calling, and I am blessed to have this opportunity to share my time, skills and talents as a board member in service of students, families, staff and the community.”
Laramie is Sinixt and a member of the Colville Confederated Tribes Lake Band, according to the Auburn School District.
Laramie defeated Dirk Dearinger with 57.41% of the vote in the November election. She received 7,011 votes while Dearinger had 5,110 votes (41.84%).
Melissa J. Laramie 7,011 57.41 %
Dirk Dearinger 5,110 41.84 %
Tracy Arnold was also sworn in as the director of District 5. Arnold was appointed to the position in 2020 after it was vacated in 2020 and ran unopposed in this year’s election.
“Auburn is fortunate to have a committed school board and director Laramie will be an asset on our board,” Superintendent Alan Spicciati said.
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