Hank McFarland running for GIPS School Board President

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KSNB) - Just months removed from winning a Ward B seat on the Grand Island Public School Board, member-elect Hank McFarland is running for school board president.

McFarland won rather convincingly over Tim Mayfield back in November for the lone Ward B seat up for election, and he’s entering Thursday’s special meeting looking for another win. McFarland’s candidacy comes after a bumpy few months for the school district since the November election.

Since the election, the district launched and concluded an investigation into incoming board member Katie Mauldin, ultimately determining that she did not live in Ward C, which is the district she was elected in. Follow-up investigations from both the Hall County Attorney and Hall County Election Commissioner’s office, however, deemed that Mauldin is a Ward C resident. The district has since rescinded its intentions to deny Mauldin her seat, and plans to swear her in Thursday night.

McFarland is also one of three new school board members who had the formal backing of the political action committee Chaperone. The other two formally-backed member-elects are Josh Sikes and Amanda Wilson, who both won Ward A seats via write-in ballots.

On multiple occasions, McFarland has told Local4 he appreciates the backing of Chaperone, but now that he’s on the school board - he intends to work in the best interest of the teachers, students and parents of the district.

Local4 will have a live interview with McFarland before the school board meeting and will be providing further updates throughout the night.

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