An investment banker was selected Thursday as the new Salt Lake Board of Education member representing the southeast part of the city.
The school board chose D. Kent Michie, 49, 2255 Onedia St., from a field of eight applicants in Precinct 7, an area basically south of 2100 South.He was named to replace Richard Kinnersley, who ran unopposed in November's general election but resigned for personal reasons before he was to take the oath of office on Jan. 5. Michie will serve until the next general election in November 1994.
Other applicants were Roger Metzger, Robert M. Christiansen, Gayen Wharton, David A. Mills, Willard E. Knibbe, Brian Bellamy and Marianne Madsen.
Board President Ann Clawson said Michie was chosen because of past work on school committees and his interest in school issues over the years. Board members also felt that Michie's legislative lobbying expertise would be an asset to the board, Clawson said.
Michie is also a public-finance consultant. He has worked as a financial adviser to many state agencies and school districts, including Salt Lake City, and has followed legislative activities on public finance.
Clawson said that although Michie worked with Salt Lake district over bonding issues in the past, neither he nor his firm has any current contractual arrangements. "There are no conflicts of interest," she said.
Michie's resume also lists him as
a licensed real estate agent with Thompson-Michie Associates, Salt Lake City. School board member Roger Thompson is a partner in that firm. But Clawson said Michie is not Thompson's partner but a brother of the firm's James Michie.
In his application, Michie told the board that he has "no hidden agendas nor axes to grind."
"I have strong big-picture aptitudes. My desire is to serve honorably with wisdom and a balanced approach and with long-term perspectives in mind," he said.
Michie said his business background and familiarity with accounting, budgeting and school finance could be valuable. "I am an advocate for good government and for the best education for our children that limited tax resources can buy."
A lifelong resident of Salt Lake City, Michie graduated from East High School and the University of Utah. He has served on the Rosslyn Heights Elementary School Community Council and was a member of the school's fund-raising committee that paid for a computer laboratory. His wife, Barbara, a former kindergarten teacher, is the newly elected Rosslyn Heights PTA president for the 1993-94 school year.