Matt Kock, 42, of Minocqua has emerged as the winner to fill the vacant seat on the Lakeland Union High School board of education.
The eight board members voted unanimously Monday to seat Kock over two other candidates. He fills the vacant position of long-time board member Jon Berg, who resigned earlier this year. That term expires next April. Kock said he intends to run for election then.
The board recognized Berg for his many years of service as a teacher and board member with a gift and standing ovation.
The board had earlier advertised for prospective candidates. The three made opening statements before the paper ballot.
The other two candidates were Dr. Tom Gabert and Mark Pertile. Gabert was a long-time board member also, serving as board president for a number of years. Pertile, who had unsuccessfully sought the board seat in an earlier election, is the public works director for the town of Minocqua.
Kock joined the board immediately after the vote, making his opinions heard on various agenda items.
He is a 1996 graduate of Lakeland. “I think Lakeland is a great place,” he said. “I look back at my experiences and I felt very well prepared as I was leaving her,” he said. He is a graduate of UW-Oshkosh with a degree in finance.
He and his wife have two children, including one at Lakeland. He is a financial advisor with RBC Wealth Management in Minocqua. He was on the school board at Trinity Lutheran School for about six years, he said. He also served on the board at Campanile Center for the Arts in Minocqua, and helped develop the local Junior Achievement program.
Five seats of the nine-member school board will be up for grabs next April. LUHS allocates one board seat (3-year term) each for the Arbor Vitae area and the Lac du Flambeau area. Also open are three at-large positions. One is for a three-year term; the other two are for one-year terms. Candidates have until Jan. 5 to file candidacy papers.
