Brad Maynard appointed to Bakersfield board

Brad Maynard has been appointed to the Bakersfield School board to fill the position of longtime member Bruce Bales, who has recently resigned from the board after changing jobs and making plans to move out of the district. 

Bakersfield superintendent Dr. Amy Britt told the Times last week that the board “accepted applications, per policy,” for the vacant position. Maynard was selected at the board’s September meeting and will begin his duties and training immediately, Britt said.  

Bales had served as president of the school board for many years, Britt said, adding that he had “served the district faithfully for 17 years.” His own children are now out of school, and “he felt it was time to pass the torch,” she said.

Britt commended Bales for his many achievements during his years on the board. “Being first elected in 2004, Bruce led the district through many challenges as well as accomplishments. Early on, some of the major projects and events that Bruce led the district through included the construction of Pride Park and the baseball/softball complex, then the challenging funding cliff of 2009 that resulted in offering of early retirement incentives and several layoffs,” she said in an email to the Times.

“In 2015, Bruce led the district through the successful first-time attempt at a bond issue to build the new high school as well as the FEMA grant project, which resulted in the new FEMA building,” Britt said. “During Bruce’s tenure on the board, the district saw numerous other accomplishments and growth such as 1:1 technology, updated classroom interactive boards, an online learning lab in the high school, parking lot updates and expansion, HVAC updates and many others.”