PAGE – The Page Unified School District announced that Charles Weiss will serve as its new board member.

Weiss will replace outgoing board member Ed Franklin, who has served as a PUSD board member since June 2017.

Because of restrictions on in-person meetings due to COVID-19, Weiss was sworn in last week over the phone by Coconino County Superintendent of Schools, Tommy Lewis. Weiss will serve as a board member until the end of 2024.

Weiss is married to Melissa Weiss. They have four children, three of them school-aged. Charles was looking for an opportunity to take a more active role in the school district, and he hopes to share his ideas regarding ways that the district and its schools may improve.

“Watching my sons go through school from the time they were in preschool, I’ve seen some struggles and issues I thought the school was having, particularly in the transition between elementary to middle school and from middle school to high school,” Weiss said. “With my background, and knowing what I know, made me want to be more involved with our schools and with my input and insights I think we might be able to find some solutions to those problems.”

Weiss is Diné and Toh Dine’é and he believes having those two ethnic backgrounds will be beneficial in a school district with a student population that’s part Native American.

“I spent some time living on (a Native nation) and went to a boarding school,” Weiss said. “I’m familiar with the struggles our native students deal with. I know they face some struggles with culture and technology. I want to use my knowledge to help the board and the district make some better decisions.”

Weiss is employed at Glen Canyon Dam, where he works as an IT specialist for the Bureau of Reclamation. He spent part of his childhood in Page and moved back in 2005 to raise his family here, and spend more time with his mother, who also lives in Page.

Weiss also serves in the Navy Reserves, something he’s done for 17 years. He did two deployments with the Navy to the Persian Gulf and the Horn of Africa during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom.

“Our schools and our students face a lot of challenges today, and those challenges have only increased with the COVID-19 situation, but I want to help our students and our schools rise to meet those challenges,” Weiss said. “Overall, I’d like to see good quality education for Page schools.”

School board members Des Fowler and Sandra Kidman were re-appointed to their seats and sworn-in for their new terms, which will expire Dec. 31, 2024.