The Centralia School Board voted unanimously Wednesday evening to appoint Maritza Bravo to a vacant seat on the board.
She will serve the remaining year of Position 2 Director Beverly Clark’s term. Clark resigned from the board on Nov. 10, 2021, and was replaced by appointee Wilfredo Henriquez Martinez in December. Martinez, who owns WH Carpentry and WH Enterprises in Centralia, resigned earlier this month due to work obligations, according to Superintendent Lisa Grant.
Bravo graduated from Centralia High School in 2015, but continues to be active in school events and school sports due to a younger sibling still attending the high school, according to her application. Bravo works as a victim/witness coordinator for the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office, holding the position since October 2021. She previously worked as a civil paralegal for the prosecutor’s office and as a deputy clerk for the Lewis County Clerk’s Office.
She is also currently seeking a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas.
“Though I have a full-time job and am a full-time student, I am always looking for new challenges and ways to benefit our local community,” she wrote in her application for the school board. “This position interests me because education is important. Investing in our youth and building relationships with them can have an overall positive impact in our community,” she added.
Bravo was one of eight applicants vying for the vacant board position.
The Centralia School Board interviewed seven of the applicants, with the eighth unable to make the interview, during a marathon three and a half hour special meeting on Saturday, Oct. 22.
A livestream recording of the interview is available on the school district’s Facebook page.
“It was heartening to walk into an interview with so many qualified candidates. Everybody brought such different perspectives to the table,” said board member Amanda McDougall.
The board members expressed their gratitude for all of the candidates and said they were impressed with how each candidate prepared and handled themself during the interview.
“It was really very powerful to have eight applicants from the community who are committed to the town, committed to the district, committed to the students that we have,” said board chair Tim Browning, later adding, “I don’t know whether we can make a bad decision.”
Bravo will take her oath of office at the Centralia School Board’s regular Nov. 9 meeting.
