Amanda York of Loudon was appointed Monday to the Merrimack Valley School Board, replacing her brother-in-law, Dan York Jr., who resigned in March.

York, who was the only person to apply for the interim role, will serve until the school district elections next March. 

The mother of four daughters who range in age from 6 to 17, York said she was motivated to join the board because of her experience navigating special education services for her eldest child, who is now homeschooled.

“Special education is probably one of my bigger priorities given that a failed 504 and a failed IEP is what brought my 17-year-old to homeschool and where a lot of my lack of trust within that program has led me to be hyper-vigilant with my other daughters’ education,” York said.

She said she will bring the same approach to serving on the board as she brought to advocating for her daughter.

“You really have to push the school and you have to push back and I feel like it’s so frowned upon to push back,” she said in an interview. “I am confident I have the voice to give push back where I think it’s needed and to help the school grow where their goals are to grow.”

York’s other children attend Loudon Elementary, the middle school, and the high school.

Dan York Jr. could not be reached for comment and did not provide a reason for his resignation, which came just weeks after the annual election.

Amanda York received an associate degree in early childhood education and currently works in the private sector as a trauma clinical data trainer. In addition to being related to her predecessor on the board, her husband is the nephew of high school principal Sam York.

Though York was the only candidate to apply for the role, she was not appointed unanimously. Following a short public interview in which York appeared to struggle slightly with some of the questions asked by board members, Jessica Wheeler Russell of Penacook and Stacie Jarvis of Boscawen opposed her appointment.

“My vote was reflective of the responses, or lack thereof,” Jarvis said in an interview.

York acknowledged that she wasn’t prepared for the interview, but she said that was because administrators provided no information about what to expect and she was not informed about the interview process. She said she only applied after learning that no other Loudon residents had expressed interest.

Jeremy Margolis can be contacted at jmargolis@cmonitor.com.