Manatee County school board seeks fifth member

An unexpected event changed the Manatee County school board in a big way.

Former District 5 representative on the board, Mary Cantrell, died from bone marrow cancer July 12. Now, the school district is one member short and has four on the panel rather than five.

School boards require an odd number of members, so there's a vote to offset a tie on an issue. 

State laws cite that Gov. Rick Scott will appoint the member to the board from a pool of applications received through the flgov.com website, said Steven Lawson, spokesperson of Scott's office.

To date, 12 individuals have applied for the position since it became available online Monday.

Among the candidates is former School Board Chairwoman Julie Aranibar.

Cantrell ousted Aranibar from the seat after the 2014 election.

Gina Messenger, a graduate of Manatee High School's Class of 2005, recently moved back to Manatee County and has been an educator for six years. 

"I saw there was an opening on the school board, and I thought that opportunity would be a nice fit for me," Messenger said. "I thought, 'Why not?'"

Other applicants include: Lynne Rubino; Jason Schiessl; Thomas Buchanan; Larry Simmons; Misty Servia and John Colon, among others.

Whoever receives the position will be up for re election in 2016, school board member Charlie Kennedy said.

Officials are tight-lipped on when a new member will assume the seat on the school board.

"There’s no timetable available, yet, for when we'll have someone in place," Lawson said. "That decision is yet to be determined."

Contact Amanda Sebastiano at [email protected].