New Mesa Public Schools board member selected from 49 applicants

Maricopa County School Superintendent Steve Watson has chosen the newest board member for the largest school district in Arizona.

Following a weekslong process, Watson appointed Courtney Davis, a real estate agent and graduate of Mesa Public Schools, to serve the remainder of the term of a board member who stepped down. The seat is up for election in November 2024.

In May, former Mesa Public Schools board member Lara Ellingson resigned to apply to be a teacher in the district, which she said would create a conflict of interest with her position on the board. Ellingson said she is now "very happily teaching kindergarten in Mesa Public Schools."

Forty-nine people applied to fill the vacancy Ellingson left, according to the Maricopa County school superintendent's website. Applicants were required to be registered to vote in Arizona and have lived in the district for a year.

Watson interviewed 47 applicants, according to spokesperson Tim Sifert. Eleven applicants made it to the second round of interviews.

The Mesa Public Schools governing board weighed in by selecting its top three choices, which did not include Davis. There's no obligation for the superintendent to pick from the governing board's selections, Sifert said.

Davis has three children who attend school in the district. Before her departure, Ellingson was the only board member with children in the district.

"When the seat became open, I felt like there really needed to be a parent voice on the board," Davis said.

Davis said she gets "to hear the good and the bad" from her children.

"I have boots on the ground in different campuses. They're my best reporters," she said.

Davis worked with the Emerson Elementary School parent-teacher organization and the school improvement advisory group at Carson Junior High and runs a parent booster club for athletic teams at Westwood High School.

"I firmly believe in Mesa Public Schools," said Davis, whose parents also attended school in the district. "I feel like our schools are a big part of our neighborhoods and our community."

Davis said she doesn't "necessarily have ... an agenda or anything like that."

"My goal is, how can I support our students and our teachers, administrators," she said.

In her application for the board vacancy, which she submitted in June, Davis wrote that she has a "personal stake in the quality of education provided by Mesa Public Schools" because she is a parent in the district.

"I believe that every child deserves the opportunity to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally," she wrote.

"Mesa's diverse population is one of the many reasons why I am drawn to it, and I firmly believe that celebrating and embracing this diversity is key to unlocking the full potential of our educational system," she wrote. "By promoting inclusivity, equity, and cultural understanding, we can create a supportive environment where every student feels valued, understood, and empowered to succeed."

She added that she envisions a district that "embraces innovation" and prepares students for the "rapid advancement of technology and the changing landscape of the workforce," which she said includes promoting "critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving, and digital literacy."

Mesa Public Schools governing board President Marcie Hutchinson introduced Davis at the board's Aug. 8 meeting. She will be sworn in during the Aug. 22 board meeting.

Classes began for the district's more than 58,000 students on Aug. 3.

Beating the heat: How are high school football teams dealing with Phoenix-area record heat wave?

Madeleine Parrish covers K-12 education. Reach her at mparrish@arizonarepublic.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @maddieparrish61.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: New Mesa Public Schools board member selected from 49 applicants