Oct 16, 2018 2 min read

Washington school directors Monday picked a 2005 district graduate and manager at an oil and gas company to replace a board member who resigned last month.

Michael Miller, 32, was one of seven city residents who sought the position vacated when John Campbell tendered his resignation Sept. 17. The term is up in December 2019.

Five of eight board members voted for Miller out of the three candidates considered. The other two nominees were Lindsey Thomas and Oper King.

Voting for Miller were Rhonda Barnes, Tara Sparks-Gatling, Karen Ruby, Marsha Pleta and President Jeffrey Fine. William Braun Jr. and Troy Breese voted for Thomas, and Patricia Cherry for King.

Miller said he studied elementary education at West Virginia Wesleyan College following his graduation from Washington High School, and spent 6 1/2 years in the Army. He’s now a branch manager for DistributionNOW, whose headquarters are in Houston, Texas.

Miller described the board’s role as “to set the precedent on what will our future leaders and community look like” while making brief remarks following the board’s vote.

Fine said Campbell’s letter of resignation didn’t give a reason for his decision.

Miller has yet to be sworn in. “We’re going to try to do it this week,” Fine said.