By the looks of the county auditor’s preliminary counts from Tuesday’s election, there are no real surprises on the results on the Oak Harbor School Board elections.

Kathy Chalfant, who had run unopposed for the Position 4 seat, and Gary Wallin, who had been appointed by the Board in January to Position 5 after Jim Slowik resigned, complete the five-member board as results continue to roll in after the Nov. 6 election.

John Bartlett was unsuccessful in his bid to unseat Wallin.

Wallin said he is pleased that Oak Harbor voters decided to keep him on the board, an apparent show of support and approval for his performance over the last nine months. Continuing “working for the kids” will be Wallin’s goal for the next four years.

“I’m going to continue to learn and continue to read,” Wallin said Wednesday.

Being a school board member, a volunteer position, requires about ten hours per week of Wallin’s time, which includes nightly reading, regular meetings, and attendance at as many school functions as he can manage. Wallin also continues to volunteer his time helping at Oak Harbor High School, something he has done steadily for the past ten years.

One of Wallin’s primary goals over his term will be working toward student achievement, he said. He plans to work toward providing the best possible educational environment for Oak Harbor’s students, he said.

“I’m real proud of our school district. We’re doing a lot with the money available,” Wallin said.

Meanwhile, Wallin said he has nothing but admiration for his opponent, saying that John Bartlett seemed to have a sincere desire to help.

“I admire anybody that’s willing to try it,” Wallin said.

Wallin also has a favorable opinion of Chalfant, and he said he thinks the newest board member will contribute a great deal to board decisions that will positively affect students.

“Kathy is going to be a good board member,” Wallin said. “She is a hard worker. . . she’s got a lot of talents.”

One of Chalfant’s primary goals is to work toward the district’s adoption of a five-year strategic plan. Planning workshops begin on Dec. 7 and 8.

Chalfant had said in an earlier interview she would “really like to see a strong strategic plan for the district.” Having a plan cuts down on crisis management, she said.

“If we don’t know where we’re going, then we’re dealing with the crisis for that week,” Chalfant said in August.

Chalfant’s other plans for her term include working toward student proficiency goals, moving forward with the remodeling of the high school, and implementing ideas and strategies to improve communication between the school district, parents and the community.

Communication is key, Chalfant said, and she is pleased that more community members and parents seem to be attending and speaking at the regular twice-monthly board meetings lately.

“That’s how the board finds out what the community wants,” Chalfant said.

Bartlett is approaching his defeat with a positive attitude.

“We’re celebrating. Now I don’t have to sit through those meetings anymore,” Bartlett joked on Thursday.

More seriously, Bartlett said that he “more than likely” will continue to attend meetings once in a while, since his son attends an elementary school in the district.