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Othello school board interviews Mariah Munoz for open board seat; board to meet in executive session
Summary
The Othello School District board interviewed Mariah Munoz, a 26-year-old public-health professional and community member, for an open school board seat and then recessed into a 15-minute executive session to evaluate the candidate’s qualifications. The meeting approved the agenda 4-0 beforehand.
The Othello School District board interviewed Mariah Munoz, an applicant for an open school board seat, on topics including student outreach, the recently closed DOHS program and community engagement, then recessed into a 15-minute executive session to evaluate the candidate’s qualifications.
The interview focused on Munoz’s background and priorities. “I believe in second, third, fourth, fifth chances,” Mariah Munoz, the applicant to the Othello School District school board, told members. She said she is 26 years old, has a son and holds a master’s degree in public health. Munoz described her current job with the Grant County Health District, where she leads an opioid task force that brings together law enforcement, prevention professionals and people with lived experience, and said that experience gives her practice facilitating disagreement and seeking common ground.
Board members asked how she would balance input from parents, teachers, students and taxpayers and what she sees as the district’s biggest challenges. Munoz said teachers and parents should be listened to first and described community engagement as central to a board member’s role. She identified the closure of DOHS as a concern and said she would like to help develop resources to support students who had been served by that program. Munoz also said she was interested in athletics and career programs, citing her own experience as an AVID student and being a first-generation college student.
At the start of the meeting, the board approved the agenda by voice vote, with the chair stating, “Motion made and seconded. All in favor? Aye. Motion passes 4 0.” After the interview, the board announced it would break for a 15-minute executive session “to evaluate the qualifications of a candidate for appointment to elected office.”
No formal appointment or vote on the candidate was recorded in the public transcript. The board asked the district’s student representatives to pose two of the interview questions and invited Munoz to submit any follow-up questions she might have after reviewing district policies and speaking with district staff.
