Oak Harbor's Pintler voted school union leader

"Mary Ann Pintler, an instructional assistant for the Oak Harbor School District, won an election for Zone Eight director at a recent Public School Employees of Washington Union convention in Spokane. She began her two-year term of office Sept. 1.I feel like I've been prepped for this, Pintler said. I am a very involved person.Her duties as zone director include setting policy and direction for the statewide union membership; adopting positions on legislative issues relating to schools and the workplace; and providing leadership and communication to the 16 chapters of PSE in her zone.Zone Eight covers the northern Puget Sound region and includes Oak Harbor, Mount Vernon, Sedro-Woolley, Burlington-Edison, San Juan Island and Ferndale school districts. In all, Pintler represents over 1,600 instructional assistants, secretaries, custodians, bus drivers and food service workers.My biggest goals this year is communication - getting everybody together, she said.Glenn Gorton, statewide PSE president, praised Pintler's leadership.I know that Mary Ann will go way beyond the call of duty, he said. Her election to a two-year term is a testament to the dedication, energy and vision she brings to the priorities of public school employees. Pintler has been employed with the Oak Harbor School District for 15 years. She now works at Oak Harbor High School, where she runs the in-school suspension room. Pintler also has worked at Olympic View, Broad View and Clover Valley elementary schools. She has served on the board of directors for the Opportunity Council, on the advisory board for Island Family Health Clinic, as a PSE chapter president for three years and as a member of the PSE legislative council for seven years. One of my favorite jobs is working with legislation, Pintler said. I really like going down there (Olympia) and talking with the legislators and pushing school issues.The PSE of Washington represents over 24,000 classified employees who work in public schools. "

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