Hunt ready to serve as Oak Harbor School Board president again

About a year after stepping down from the role, Peter Hunt reassumed the position as board president of the Oak Harbor School Board last week.

About a year after stepping down from the role, Peter Hunt reassumed the position as board president of the Oak Harbor School Board last week.

In April 2014, Hunt stepped down as president citing health concerns. He ceded the role to Christine Cribb.

Cribb recently was appointed as the executive director of the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce, however, and said she didn’t believe she could dedicate as much time on school matters as the role of board president requires.

“I cannot visit all the schools and everything that I’d like to do as board president in the way I did it before my repositioning at the chamber,” Cribb said. “I don’t like to admit I can’t do everything, but the reality is that I can’t.”

“Normal procedure” when the president steps down is for the vice president to assume the role, Cribb said.

Christine Abbott, the vice president, declined. Hunt was nominated, and the board unanimously approved his return to the position.

After undergoing brain stimulation surgery in November to help combat Parkinson’s Disease, Hunt said his health has improved.

“I’ve still got Parkinson’s; I’m still on medication and things will continue to progress in that way,” Hunt said. “But it set the clock back maybe five years, so I’m in the position now where I think I’ll be able to handle the presidency, where I wasn’t a year ago.”

Cribb was president of the board for almost a year and said she spent “eight hours a week in schools, if not more,” but just can’t devote as much time to the schools anymore.

“It was a fabulous year,” Cribb said. “When you’re president, you represent the entire board. We’ve done great things. We make really great decisions, and working side-by-side with Dr. (Lance) Gibbon has been phenomenal, and representing the board … has been a true privilege.”

Cribb is remaining on the school board.

“She’s really great,” Hunt said. “I wish she’d continued on, but things kind of worked out this way, so I get to finish my term, and she finished a full term, too.

“I have absolutely no complaints, and I have nothing but congratulations.”