Community leader Carol Atkinson has been selected to fill a vacancy on the Whitefish School Board.

Atkinson rose to the top of a deep pool of eight candidates who applied to fill the seat left open by recent unexpected death of longtime trustee Pat Jarvi.

The board made the selection at a special meeting Friday morning.

“She has a demonstrated history of committed engagement with the school district,” board chair Shawn Watts told the Pilot. “She has showed she has a passion for this work.”

Atkinson has served on numerous volunteer boards in Whitefish, including a stint as board president of the Whitefish Community Foundation. She currently serves on boards for the Whitefish Arts Council, Project K-12 Connect and the Performing Arts Center steering committee.

“She has proved that she is a value to any board,” said trustee Ruth Harrison. “She is a woman of her word and does what she says she intends.”

Watts lauded Atkinson for her ability to connect with the community.

“We’re focused on community engagement — getting the schools into the community and the community into the schools,” Watts said. “She’s done a lot to engage people to get active in the district.”

Atkinson will serve until the next school election in May of 2016.

Watts said the board faced a tough decision in selecting a trustee from a strong list of candidates.

“It’s a good problem we had, having all these amazing candidates,” Watts said.

The number of candidates was quite a increase from the last school election in May when only three candidates — which included Jarvi — ran for two open seats representing the elementary district.

Trustee Heather Vrentas said she hoped the other applicants would stay involved with the district and join committees.