The Valparaiso City Council has three candidates to choose from for a seat on the Valparaiso School Board.
"We have Jon Costas, Julie Smith, Jennifer Buck. The applications will be sent out to all council members, and a redacted form of the applications will be posted on the city's website for the public to view," council member Diana Reed explained during Monday's council meeting.
The first round of interviews is scheduled for next Monday. A second round of interviews and a selection could be made May 31. Mayor Matt Murphy stressed that Council Member Evan Costas will not take part in the interviews or the final vote, since he's related to one of the applicants.
Valparaiso Community Schools is one of the few districts locally where school board members are appointed, not elected, which was one of the concerns cited by opponents to the recent property tax referendum. Parents have voiced their displeasure with the council's current appointments in recent months, especially when it came to the school mask mandate and discussions on racism in schools.