Galovin is newest MSD board member
- Dec 24, 2019
The newest Marysville school board member Paul Galovin was sworn on to the board on Dec. 11.
Galovin serves District 2 for the Marysville School Board, which is most of north Marysville.
He defeated incumbent school board member Mariana Maksimos with 53.69 percent of the votes during the Nov. 5 general election.
After getting out of the military, Galovin moved to Marysville in 2007 and has resided in the community since then.
“I served for my country in the Army and later in the National Guard,” he said.
He wanted to continue serving his community at a more local level and has begun putting time into various committees around the school district and city, including the district’s facilities committee that helped shape the levy proposals that will be on this February’s ballot.
After considering the options, Galovin said he decided to try to get more involved in the school district with a school board position.
Galovin didn’t expect this much support when he started out.
“Running for office is completely foreign territory for me,” he said.
“The amount of voter support took me by surprise actually, and has helped quiet some doubts in my mind if this was really right for me,” he said.
Currently, Galovin has a 12-year-old that goes to a Marysville school as well as a foster child in his care.
Galovin is a former foster child and said from third-grade to ninth-grade he moved around to many different schools.
“I got to see a lot of the inconsistencies across school districts. A lot of the support services were different, sometimes even in the same district,” Galovin said.
He hopes to improve some of those issues with the schools, he said.
“Even some of the wealthier school districts have those same challenges. I want to help try to build a layout for how the school district can work more consistently,” he said.
As Galovin joins the board he said the district is heading in a positive direction and he hopes to continue projects already in the pipeline.
“A lot of their goals are the same as mine,” he said.
He hopes to foster the growth of Marysville educators.
“I want to allow teachers to reach outside their tool box to find something that works better,” Galovin said.
Improving the school environment for kids is also important for him, he said.
“I really think that to get bullying out of schools, you have to make the schools be like a family,” he said.
He points to 10th Street Middle School as a good example of community, which had about 150 of their 170 students attend this year’s Halloween event.
“That’s just a beautiful environment there, and I want to help make all of our schools have that kind of environment. I know that’s a tall order,” he said.
Galovin said he has already talked with parents who have helped to guide his thinking and encourages parents to reach out to him if they want their voice and opinions heard.
“I want to win the trust of the people, and let them know that they can call me on my phone at any time,” he said.
He said Marysville parents and community members can call him at 425-272-3233.