John Carroll, of Norwich, Vt., left, speaks with Lt. Gov. Phil Scott during a gathering of the Windsor County GOP in White River Junction, Vt., on May 19, 2016. Carroll, a former Windsor County senator and Republican candidate for Congress in 1994 against Bernie Sanders, is a supporter of Scott's gubernatorial campaign. "I'm very enthusiastic about Phil," he said. (Valley News - Geoff Hansen) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.
John Carroll, of Norwich, Vt., left, speaks with Lt. Gov. Phil Scott during a gathering of the Windsor County GOP in White River Junction, Vt., on May 19, 2016. Carroll, a former Windsor County senator and Republican candidate for Congress in 1994 against Bernie Sanders, is a supporter of Scott's gubernatorial campaign. "I'm very enthusiastic about Phil," he said. (Valley News - Geoff Hansen) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Montpelier — A former Republican state senator from Norwich and town manager in Manchester have been appointed to the Vermont State Board of Education.

Gov. Phil Scott, a first-term Republican, on Monday said he appointed John Carroll, of Norwich, and John O’Keefe, of Manchester Center, Vt., to the board.

“Both appointees have a demonstrated commitment to public service and impressive policy knowledge,” Scott said in a news release. “They both deeply value the importance of education and a strong, effective education system, which is critical as we look to build a cradle-to-career continuum of learning that benefits students, attracts working families to Vermont and strengthens our workforce.”

Carroll, who is retired, worked as director of global services for Hypertherm Inc. and served in the Vermont Senate for six years before running for the U.S. House as the Republican nominee in 1994 against then-U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

He is on the Norwich Development Review board and previously served on the Norwich School Board and chaired the Dresden School Board.

“Three generations of my family have been educators, and my life has been so enriched by teachers — from public elementary school to independent secondary school to private university. These experiences have given me a life long interest in education, so I am pleased to have this opportunity to serve all Vermonters’ interests in education by serving on the State Board of Education,” Carroll said in the news release.

O’Keefe is the town manager in Manchester and worked as legislative director for then-Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican.

Carroll and O’Keefe are replacing Stephan Morse, of Windham County, and Sean-Marie Oller, of Bennington County, on the 11-member State Board of Education.