The Hays CISD board of trustees is slated to choose among six applicants a stand-in for departed trustee Shaun Bosar at a Feb. 3 special called meeting.

Four of the six applicants were interviewed Jan. 27 in an open meeting.

Of the four applicants, two said they may pursue the seat full-time by filing to be placed on the ballot for the May school board elections.

Sgt. Jesus Espinoza, a Kyle Police Department police officer, said definitively that he would pursue an elected term.

"I'm going to run in May 2014," Espinoza said. "I was asked to run for city council, but I decided to go ahead and run for school board."

Michelle Lopez, a former Kyle city councilwoman, applied for the vacant slot but said during her interview she has decided against filing for the election.

"It's not that I don't want to," Lopez said. "I just right now believe that my calling is at home with my 4-year-old son for a little bit longer until he's entered into school.

"I think this unique opportunity provided for me and for the board of trustees, if selected, something that would allow everybody to move forward at the continued rate."

Lopez serves on the board of directors of the Hays CISD Education Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the district in achieving its educational aims.

Samuel James Mungo, a music professor at Texas State University, and Cassandra Mendez, a licensed insurance agent, rounded out the applicant pool interviewed Jan. 27.

Edward G. Lara, a federal inspector, and Rudolph Pittman Jr., a minister, also applied but did not attend the meeting.

Bosar announced in December that he was resigning from the board because of a move out of the district.

A common thread among the candidates' responses to a question that asked what were the biggest issues facing the district was growth.

Mungo related a story about growing up in Bloomingtown, Ill., which experienced similar growth when he was growing up, he said.

Espinoza said he served on a committee charged with developing a proposal for a potential bond program, and growth often pervaded discussions. As a law enforcement officer, he said safety is another important matter.

In addition to growth, Lopez said infrastructure and budgeting are two pressing issues for the district's policymakers.

The Feb. 3 special-called meeting in which trustees are expected to name the replacement has yet to be posted to the district's website, but a public hearing on the proposed bond package takes place that day at 6:30 p.m. in Lehman High School.