As the Manhattan Beach Unified School District's Board of Trustees prepares to name a new member, six applicants have applied for the open position.

The candidates will be interviewed - and a new board member will be chosen - at a special 1:00 p.m. meeting on Wednesday, February 15. That new member will immediately join the board for its regular meeting at 5:00 p.m. later that day.

Following the resignation of board member Jason Boxer, the board opted to nominate a new member rather than hold a special election. A special election had been projected to cost $879,000 and would not take place until November 2023. 

The six candidates include:

Michael Brunick: Brunick is a technology and communications professional who currently serves as a senior vice president at Yahoo. A second-generation alum of the Manhattan Beach School District, Brunick has three children in the district and his wife is a teacher at MBUSD. He has served on the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation's board of directors since 2018 and is currently its vice president. Brunick ran for school board in 2020 and came in third behind Jason Boxer.

Dina Sayegh Doll: Doll is an attorney, television legal analyst, and certified mediator who co-founded the firm Doll Amir & Eley LLP. With one student in the district (and one having left the district), she is a longtime classroom volunteer. In her application, she emphasized her background as a small business owner and as a mediator/conflict resolver.

Bruce Greenberg: Greenberg is a former e-business executive who now advises early-stage technology companies. He serves as the MBUSD appointee to the Manhattan Beach Parks & Rec Commission and has volunteered in the schools as a mentor, coach, and founder of math programs and competitions, including co-founding the MBUSD Elementary Math Contest, and launching a YouTube channel for Mira Costa Boys' Volleyball during COVID. He has one student in the district and one MBUSD graduate.

James Myrtle: Myrtle is a retired biotechnology scientist and high school and college chemistry teacher who has taught in both public and private schools. He currently volunteers with the Mayo Clinic providing online support to newly diagnosed cancer patients. Myrtle emphasizes his biotech and teaching experience as being key to his success as a board member.

Nathalie Rosen: Rosen is a bookkeeper and litigation paralegal and has two children in MBUSD schools. Although new to Manhattan Beach in 2021, she has served as a Young at Art Docent and serves on the Pennekamp PTA board. She previously served on the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council and as president of the Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles parent committee.

Carrie Wetsch: Wetsch is a third-generation resident of Manhattan Beach with one student in the MBUSD school district. Wetsch established the Special Education Advisory Committee at MBUSD in 2015 and has served in a number of district leadership roles. She currently serves as treasury secretary on the District Advisory Council, as well as on the LCAP Committee, the MBMS Bell Schedule Committee, and the Significant Disproportionality Education Partners.

After Wednesday's appointment, if the community disagrees with the appointment that the board makes, community members may (within 30 days of the appointment) submit a petition signed by 1.5% of the voting population.

If the petition is sufficient, the L.A. County superintendent would order a special election.