Aranibar and Miner Elected as School Board Chair and Vice Chair

Julie Aranibar

BRADENTON -  At Tuesday's Manatee County School Board meeting, vice chair Julie Aranibar was elected as incoming board chair, while board member Dave "Watchdog" Miner was voted in as vice chair by fellow board members at their reorganization meeting.

The shuffling of chair positions came one year after former chair Harry Kinnan stepped into retirement, and Karen Carpenter was nominated as his replacement. 

After Superintendent Rick Mills opened up the floor for nomination of board chair during the meeting, Miner moved to nominate Aranibar just before Robert Gause moved to nominate fellow board member Barbara Harvey, who declined due to personal health. 

Aranibar's nomination was approved 4-1, with Gause voting nay. After the vote, Harvey motioned to nominate David Miner for Vice Chair. The sole nominee for the position that night, Miner was unanimously voted in.

A short ceremony followed, with Carpenter receiving plaque for her services as chair, which was read aloud by Miner. Miner also presented her with red "freedom roses," which he said symbolized her freedom "from being chair for a while." 

In other business during the reorganization meeting, board meerings were changed from the second and fourth Monday of every month to the second and fourth Tuesday. Board committee assignments, which were on the meeting's agenda, were not changed as the board must first endorse the new Chair's appointments before assignments can change.