HASLETT - Monica DelCastillo was appointed to the Haslett Board of Education when a special meeting was called to order on July 8 to interview and finalize a candidate for a recent Board vacancy.

The opening was created by the departure of Haslett Public Schools Trustee Greg Michaud, who resigned effective June 13th.

A posting for letters of interest on the Haslett Public Schools website was finalized the week of June 25th, and 4 candidates were invited for public interviews during the special meeting.

Each of the 4 candidates appeared in front of the other 6 current board members for interviews that were scheduled for 20 minutes each, comprising of 7 questions.

DelCastillo was the final candidate to interview, and was selected after nearly 40 minutes of deliberation by the Board.

When asked about the appointment, DelCastillo, who most recently was the president of the academic senate at Lansing Community College said, “They [will be] getting a seasoned educator...I have both taught, as well as provided counseling. Also, being Cuban, I bring diversity, and in the world that we live in, I think that is really critical. Kids need to see people of different ethnicities, different cultures...as teachers and administrators….If they see it, they think they can be it.”

Other action items for the evening included the extension of Superintendent Steven Cook’s contract, as well as the recommendation for the hire of Kevin Hatch as the School Principal for Murphy Elementary School. Hatch has taught 5th grade at the school for the previous 8 years.

More information on the school Board and future meetings can be found on the Haslett school district website, which is linked below.