(Courtesy photo)
GRAND ISLAND – The Grand Island Public Schools Board of Education plans to interview four candidates for the vacant Ward A seat on Feb. 12.
The interviews will take place at the school district’s regular Board meeting scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 12. The meeting will start at 5:30 p.m. as scheduled with the interviews taking place after the Board votes on the monthly consent agenda and time for public comment.
At this time, the Board of Education intends to interview the full-field of qualified applicants. The Ward A candidates are:
- Amber Harper
- Sarah Loudy
- Kenton Mann
- Ralae Noorlander
Amber Harper is a Ward A, Grand Island, resident. Harper currently serves as a Network Service Coordinator at the Nebraska Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence.
Sarah Loudy is a Ward A, Grand Island, resident. Loudy currently serves as a Biological Sciences Instructor at Central Community College.
Dr. Kenton Mann is a Ward A, Grand Island, resident. Dr. Mann is a retired public school educator and administrator and has served as a Professor of Practice at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Ralae Noorlander is a Ward A, Grand Island, resident. Noorlander has worked in the school district as a substitute teacher.
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 A” 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 Board of Education 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.
On Jan. 8, the Board of Education accepted the resignation of Board Member Josh Sikes. Sikes’ new professional opportunities found his family relocating to a different community, rendering vacant his seat on the Board representing Ward A.
After a period of public notice and advertising for the Ward A vacancy, the Board of Education accepted qualified applications. The qualifications included; Must be a resident of the school district, and reside within Ward A, and be a qualified registered voter.
The appointment will be for the remainder of the representative’s term of March 2026 – 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.
Meeting details are as follows:
DATE: Thursday, Feb. 12
TIME: 5:30 p.m. start time
VENUE: Kneale Administration Building Board Room
ADDRESS: 123 S. Webb Road, Grand Island, NE 68802
AGENDA & LIVE STREAM: Available on the GIPS website: www.GIPS.org.
