Paul Scarpelli, former head of Clark County Animal Control, will be the newest member of the Vancouver Public Schools Board of Directors.
Scarpelli replaces Michelle Giovannozzi, who resigned her seat at the end of July. He’ll be sworn in on Sept. 10 and sit on the board until a new, elected school board member is sworn in after the November election.
The school board unanimously appointed Scarpelli on Tuesday after a marathon meeting interviewing 11 candidates. (There originally were 13, but two dropped out before Tuesday’s interviews.) After less than an hour of deliberation in executive session, the board announced its decision.
“Frankly, it was a very hard choice,” school board Vice President Dale Rice said.
Scarpelli couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon, but in his application, he touted his experience as both a student and a parent in the Vancouver school district. He praised the district for its work expanding facilities and academic opportunities for students.
“Having individuals on the VPS board of directors with a passion for education and a similar passion for fiscal responsibility should be highly desirable,” Scarpelli wrote. “I would like to be a member of the board to keep up the district’s amazing record of academic achievement and public support moving forward.”
Scarpelli worked for 17 years at Clark County in a number of roles, including a seven-year stint as finance manager for the community development department and as a program manager in the budget office.
Scarpelli was fired from Clark County in 2018 after the county alleged he had been consuming alcohol while representing the county at an off-site meeting. Scarpelli denied the allegations, saying he was having a beer with Mark Watson, then the president of Dog Owners Group for Park Access in Washington, Russell Brent, the owner of Mill Creek Pub, and county Councilor Julie Olson. At the meeting, Scarpelli turned his county coat inside out, and announced he was “off duty the rest of the day.”
Following the meeting, Scarpelli paid his bill, went back to the office to collect a duffle bag he’d left there and went home.
In a statement following the firing secured by The Columbian in a public records request, Scarpelli wrote that he believed he was targeted because he was talking about dog parks while having a beer.
“Can no employee talk about their work while not at work?” he wrote. “I just can’t believe I’m now at risk of losing my job while sacrificing so much of my personal time.”
Scarpelli noted in his application that his experience at Clark County will serve him in this new role. He said that position gave him “specialized knowledge” to lead complicated public organizations.
“Although nothing compares in scale to the Vancouver school district, the complexities, breadth, diversity and political environment is very similar,” he wrote.
