The Guilderland Central School District Board of Education has the power to develop policies, rules and regulations for the operation of our school system. Nine residents serve, without pay, on the district’s school board. Individuals are eligible for election to the Board if they are qualified voters of the district (district resident for the last year, U.S. citizen, 18 years of age and older) and can read and write. New York State Education Law does not limit the number of terms of office a member may serve.
Meet the 2024-25 Board Candidates
On May 21, voters in the Guilderland Central School District will elect three board members. Candidates must meet all of the other requirements to run for the Board. Learn more about the Guilderland Central District Board of Education.
Candidates are listed below in the order they will appear on the ballot:
Tara Molloy-Grocki
Tara Molloy-Grocki is seeking her first term on the board. Employed by the Guilderland Central School District as a Guilderland Elementary School teacher for 31 years, she will retire on June 30, 2024. Tara received a Bachelor of Music degree with a major in Music Education from Westminster Choir College and a Master’s in Elementary Education from CUNY Queens College.
Currently serving on the GES DEI Committee, Tara makes a practice of volunteering at events held at the school. Through the Guilderland Teachers’ Association, she has participated in food drives as well as National Night Out.
A district resident for 22 years, Tara and her husband Tony have three children — Conor and Sean, Guilderland High School alumni, and Clare, a GHS junior.
Mateo Dunagan
Mateo Dunagan is seeking his first term on the board. He is employed by Hannaford Bros., in Guilderland, where he performs front-end operations.
A graduate of Guilderland High School, Mateo attended SUNY Schenectady County Community College.
He has resided in the district for 11 years and served on the GCSD School Start Times Task Force. Mateo was also a member of the Students for Inclusion club.
Elizabeth Floyd Mair
Elizabeth Floyd Mair is seeking her first term on the board. She is employed by the Albany County Department of Law, where she drafts legal documents related to child neglect and abuse. Prior to this position she was formerly a reporter for the Times Union and the Altamont Enterprise as well as a book editor.
A graduate of Guilderland schools, Elizabeth earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from SUNY Binghamton and a Master of Arts in East Asian Studies, Japanese, from University of Iowa.
A resident of the district for 33 years, Elizabeth and her husband Aaron have one child, Olivia, who is a sophomore at Guilderland High School.
Blanca Gonzalez-Parker
Blanca Gonzalez-Parker is seeking her third term on the board. She is employed as the Program Associate for Safety and Health at the NYS & CSEA Partnership for Education and Training. A graduate of Guilderland High School, she received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Utica College. Blanca attended University at Albany, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and a Masters in Public Health. In addition, she holds a graduate certificate from UAlbany in Disease Surveillance and Emergency Preparedness and a professional certificate from the Rochester Institute of Technology OSHA Training Institute in Public Sector Safety and Health.
As a board member, Blanca serves on the Policy Committee, Business Practices Committee, DEI Committee, Future-Ready Task Force, Music and Arts Subcommittee, DEI Student Voice Subcommittee and the Districtwide Safety and Security Committee. She is the Guilderland High School PTSA liaison and the Board of Education Interim Vice President.
A volunteer with Guilderland Lacrosse Parents, Guilderland Field Hockey Parents, Pine Bush Elementary School, Farnsworth Middle School PTA and the Albany County Medical Reserve Corps, Blanca is a member of Guilderland Music Parents and Vice President of Guilderland Tennis Parents.
A resident of the district since 1985, Blanca and her husband Michael have three children; Magdalena Lucia who attends FMS, Angelica Sofia who attends GHS and Blanca Isabela who attends Binghamton University.
Nina Kaplan
Nina Kaplan is seeking her first term on the board. She is employed by the South Colonie Central School District as a social studies teacher, where for 21 years, she has taught grades 8-12 in general education and co-teach classrooms. She has experience teaching students with special needs and has knowledge in pedagogy and social emotional development. Additionally, Nina works for the New York State State Education Department Office of Assessment as an Education Specialist. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in History from University at Albany and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Union College.
A member of the Farnsworth Middle School and Guilderland High School PTAs, Nina serves on the district’s DEI Committee and the DEI Steering Committee and is the Westmere Elementary PTA liaison to the DEI Committee. She chairs the Early Childhood Education Committee for Ohav Shalom ECEC and is a South Colonie Teachers Association Building Representative. Nina has plans to work with the Educator Curricular Development Committee for the Proposed Capital District Jewish Holocaust Memorial.
A district resident for 22 years, Nina is married to Brian Kaplan and has three children — Eliana, a junior at Guilderland High School, Julia, an eighth grade student at Farnsworth Middle School and Harrison, a first grade student at Voorheesville Elementary School.