Left to right: Miguel Aguilera and Carlos Barcenas, (Grand Island Public Schools, Courtesy)
GRAND ISLAND — The Grand Island Public Schools Board of Education plans to conduct interviews of candidates for the vacant Ward C seat this week.
To accommodate the interviews, the GIPS regular Board meeting scheduled for Thursday, September 12th, 2024 will begin at 4:30 p.m. (an hour earlier than typical starting time).
The GIPS Board intends to conduct the bulk of the regular meeting first and then host the Ward C candidate interviews after other regular business has been addressed.
At this time, the GIPS Board of Education intends to interview the full-field of qualified applicants. The Ward C candidates are:
- Miguel Aguilera
- Carlos Barcenas
Miguel Aguilera is a Ward C, Grand Island, resident. Aguilera serves as the Assistant Director of Admissions for the Grand Island Area at Wayne State College.
Carlos Barcenas is a Ward C, Grand Island, resident. Previously, Barcenas served on the GIPS Board of Education from January 2013 – December 2022. Barcenas serves as a professional speaker, coach, and facilitator with “I Choose Purple”.
After the conclusion of previous agenda items, the Board will enter the “Take Action to Appoint a Board Member to Fill Remainder of Term in Ward C” segment of the meeting. At which time, the Board will have the opportunity to interview each candidate in public fashion as part of the Open Meetings Act.
At the conclusion of the interviews and discussion, the GIPS Board will take a motion and vote on which candidate to appoint. If the vote results in a tie, the Board will re-motion and re-vote. If the tie remains unmoved, the GIPS Board may choose to implement a tie-breaker procedure.
Throughout the interviews, Board members will be taking notes and tabulating scores on interview rubrics provided by the Nebraska Association of School Boards (NASB). If the Board opts for a tie breaker, the procedure could involve a tabulation of scores from the NASB interview rubrics.
Back on August 8th, the GIPS Board accepted the resignation of Board Member Katie Mauldin. Ms. Mauldin’s employment required her to relocate to a different community, rendering vacant her seat on the Board representing Ward C.
After a period of public notice and advertising for the Ward C vacancy, the GIPS Board accepted qualified applications. The qualifications included: Must be a resident of the school district, and reside within Ward C, and be a qualified registered voter.
The appointment will be for the remainder of the representative’s term of September 2024 – December 2026.
The public is invited to attend the GIPS regular Board meeting or watch the live stream on the Grand Island Public Schools YouTube channel.
