A Tyler Independent School District trustee has been selected to become a Master Trustee. Dr. Patricia Nation, who represents Tyler ISD District 4, joined 35 other school board members from across Texas at the kickoff session of the Leadership TASB class of 2020, Sept. 19-21 in Dallas. Selected by the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), the group is participating in a yearlong education leadership study program. Nation joined the Tyler ISD board in 2014 and is serving a second term. She is up for reelection in 2020. A retired educator, Nation has worked at all levels in the field from classroom teacher to administrator in East Texas school districts. view article

Longview ISD Place 6 trustee Ted Beard has been appointed as vice president of the Texas Association of School Boards. “I’m going to continue to advocate for quality, accessible public education that’s properly funded for all of the school districts, not just in Region VII but for the entire state of Texas,” he said. “I am blessed to bring a perspective from the greater Longview community and the entire Region VII service area.” view article

The Pearland ISD Board of Trustees approved the establishment of a capital projects fund at the Oct. 8 meeting and the transfer of $10 million from the general operating fund into the capital projects fund. The $10 million will begin to address the $18 million worth of capital improvement needs indicated in the 10-year capital renewal plan the district published in May. “We’re beginning to look through those projects with a fine-toothed comb to determine which are most critical and should be prioritized in this process,” Superintendent John Kelly said. view article

Rio Grande City school board members erupted in argument during a meeting Tuesday over payments to their current attorney. The school board was set to consider terminating Baltazar Salazar, a Houston-based attorney, from his post as the school board attorney. The motion failed as only board Trustee Daria Babineaux voted in favor of firing him. However, the vote came after much arguing between some of the board members, Salazar and Superintendent Vilma Garza. view article

The Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) has elected Mark Lukert of Wichita Falls ISD to a three-year term on the TASB Board of Directors, representing TASB Region 9. Lukert, who joined the Wichita Falls ISD Board in 2018, has been an educator for more than 40 years. He spent 21 years as an elementary school principal. Currently, he is a national trainer, speaker and leadership coach for the John Maxwell Team. He also presents keynote addresses for various organizations and conducts team-building workshops across the state and nation.  view article

The Montgomery Independent School District board of trustees met Friday morning for a special meeting that covered a number of agenda items, including a hazing incident. The meeting started at 8 a.m., and after a brief public comment period, trustees left the meeting chambers to discuss the hazing incident involving the varsity football team behind closed doors with their legal counsel.  view article

Three forums next week will give voters the opportunity to hear from candidates running in contested races for spots on the Richardson ISD board of trustees. The Nov. 5 election marks the first time in RISD’s history that trustees will be elected by voters in specific geographic areas rather than by the district as a whole. The district moved to a majority single-member district electoral system following the settlement of a lawsuit earlier this year. view article

White Oak ISD trustees will consider financial matters when they meet at 6 p.m. Monday. School board members will look at approving a purchase of more than $50,000, an investment policy, investment training vendors and a budget amendment. view article

Katherine Sells, trustee from Lewisville ISD, joined 35 other school board members from across Texas September 19-21 at the kickoff session of the Leadership TASB class of 2020. Selected by the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), the group is participating in a yearlong education leadership study program. These trustees represent school districts of all sizes, with student populations of 161 to 189,681, and reflect a similar range of property wealth. view article

Florence’s one day of early voting was a casualty of a newly implemented Texas election law that lawmakers said they pushed to curb abuse in school bond elections. But the law was crafted broadly enough to upend a long-established practice of moving polling places during the early voting period to reach as many voters as possible near where they live, work or go to school. With a Nov. 5 constitutional election looming, the new law has left a trail of shuttered early voting polling places across the state, prompting unease among election officials about how far it'll go in limiting access to early voting in next year’s high-stakes election. view article

For the first time, a school board member is speaking out about an alleged hazing incident involving football players at Montgomery High School. The Montgomery ISD school board member said the incident has been improperly handled from the beginning. view article

After seven meetings, more than 800 comments, and a whole lot of discussion, the Highland Park ISD boundary rezoning committee agreed on a plan at its Oct. 7 meeting. The committee, which is made up of parents and residents, is now sending that plan to the Board of Trustees, who will take up the matter at its Oct. 15 meeting. view article

The Brownsville Independent School District Board of Trustees has updated the Board Standard Operating Procedures Manual under which it conducts school board business. At a special called meeting Tuesday, the board agreed to a series of changes to fine-tune the manual to reflect current realities. The changes were in addition to those approved last week by the board. Meanwhile, action on a complaint by a parent about board member Erasmo Castro’s public actions was delayed until a special called board meeting scheduled for Oct. 21, which Castro’s attorney Star Jones requested. view article

The Chron endorses incumbent CM Dave Martin in District E. It’s easy to find out the biggest problem in Houston City Council District E. Ask any of its residents and most likely they will tell you a flooding story. Water invaded so many homes in the Kingwood and Elm Grove neighborhoods after Harvey and Imelda that just the sight of dark clouds makes people nervous. That’s why District E residents have come to depend on incumbent Councilman Dave Martin. Since first being elected in 2012, and has served one two-year and one four-year term. Martin has been working hard to make their homes less vulnerable to flooding. view article

Elysian Fields ISD trustees on Monday had to move the school board meeting’s location after about 50 parents and community members showed up to voice their concerns about bullying in the district. The concerns on Monday were prompted after the death of an Elysian Fields Middle School sixth grader last month. The death is being investigated as a suicide by Panola County Sheriff’s Office, and several neighboring school districts wore orange in support of Elysian Fields ISD and the student following her death. view article

Clifton Fendley, trustee from Paris ISD, joined 35 other school board members from across Texas September 19-21 at the kickoff session of the Leadership TASB class of 2020. Selected by the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), the group is participating in a yearlong education leadership study program. These trustees represent school districts of all sizes, with student populations of 161 to 189,681, and reflect a similar range of property wealth. Participants who complete all required elements of the study will graduate next year by earning Master Trustee status. This is the highest designation recognized by TASB.  view article

Ted Beard believes public education is the key to a healthy and successful society. The Place 6 trustee on the Longview ISD school board says his service to the district is focused on providing a quality, equitable, properly-funded education for all students. view article

A member of the Marlin Independent School District Board of Managers who defrauded the Veterans Affairs Department and was ordered to pay the federal government nearly half a million dollars in restitution resigned late Friday night after the Tribune-Herald inquired why the Texas Education Agency would appoint him to oversee the school district. view article

Two candidates filed for New Caney ISD board of trustees, Position 6, in the Nov. 5 election: incumbent Ty Trout and challenger Craig Matthews. Community Impact Newspaper invited both candidates to provide the responses below to help voters weigh their options. Responses may have been edited for length. Beth Prykryl is also seeking re-election to Position 7 on the board; however, her race is uncontested, so she was not asked to participate in a questionnaire. view article

Leading up to the election on Nov. 5, candidates for the Klein ISD board of trustees were able to express their concerns and plans for the district and detailed their vision with strategies, ideas and balloon animals. Voters got to meet the five candidates up for position 7 on the Klein ISD board of trustees during the candidate forum on Oct. 3, hosted by Community Impact Newspaper in the Klein Multipurpose Center. The hosts of the event asked questions after candidates gave opening statements, and the audience asked their own questions for the last half of the event. view article

Tomball ISD families could see attendance boundary changes finalized in December or January for the district’s two new campuses in the works, Chief Operating Officer Steven Gutierrez said during a TISD District Zone Committee meeting Oct. 3. The new schools—an elementary campus and a junior high campus—will be part of a TISD complex at Cypress Rosehill Road and Hwy. 99 that will also include a district football stadium and water and wastewater treatment plants. Land clearing is underway at the complex, as Community Impact Newspaper previously reported. Construction of the district complex is funded by the $275 million bond referendum voters approved in November 2017. view article

Henderson ISD Trustee Jon Best paid two teenagers to slash the tires and contaminate the gas tank of the vehicle belonging to his challenger in the upcoming school board election, according to a criminal complaint filed in Rusk County. view article

Two days after the Judson Independent School District board appointed a new member, a long-time trustee resigned, leaving another vacancy. District 2 trustee Richard LaFoille resigned Thursday, Judson ISD spokesman Steve Linscomb confirmed. He had served on the board since 2004 and his current term was set to end in 2021. view article

A long-serving member of the Henderson ISD board of trustees has been arrested on a charge of criminal mischief that caused between $2,500 to $30,000 in losses. District 5 Trustee Jon Best, 59, was arrested Friday by Rusk County sheriff’s deputies and released that day from the Rusk County Jail on $10,000 bond, jail records show. view article

Cy-Fair ISD board of trustees, Position 4 view article

The Judson Independent School District board has appointed Rafael ‘Rafa’ Diaz Jr. to replace Jose Macias, who was named to the Alamo Colleges board in September. Trustees spent four hours Tuesday night interviewing the six applicants for the District 4 seat and chose Diaz, a software executive, with a unanimous vote. The group included two retired Air Force veterans, an amusement park director and a graduate student. view article

Cy-Fair ISD board of trustees, Position 2 view article

A Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees of Center ISD will be held on October 2, 2019, beginning at 12:00 PM in the Center High School 658 Roughrider Drive Center, Texas 75935. The subjects to be discussed or considered or upon which any formal action may be taken are listed below. view article

Judson Independent School District trustees voted unanimously Tuesday evening to select Rafael Diaz to fill a vacant board seat. Diaz will take the oath of office at the next meeting, scheduled for Oct. 10. He was one of six applicants who interviewed for the position Tuesday. Board President Renée Paschall said the board selected Diaz over the five other candidates because he seemed knowledgeable, passionate about the district, and focused on student outcomes. view article

Plano ISD approved a number of revisions to the student code of conduct for the 2019-20 school year at a board meeting Oct. 1. Four of these revisions were made to comply with new state legislation from both the Texas Senate and House. One law-related change is the addition of specific language that prohibits adverse discipline tactics. The district’s previously outlined discipline practices were not in conflict with the new law, according to a statement by PISD spokesperson Lesley Range-Stanton. view article

Wichita Falls ISD Board President Elizabeth Yeager was honored with a Yellow Rose of Texas Award this month by Gov. Greg Abbott for her lengthy community and volunteer service. Given to recognize outstanding Texas women, it is the highest honor bestowed on them in the Lone Star State. Yeager said she was surprised and humbled. view article

As school board candidates begin their campaigns, one Henderson ISD member was charged with criminal mischief, after a school board opponent claims “Jonathan Earl Best” paid someone to steal his campaign signs and slash his tires. view article

The Sherman Independent School District may soon have two campuses for its pre-kindergarten courses for district students following recent state legislation. Among the proposals, the district is considering transitioning the Perrin Learning Center to serve as the district’s second pre-K facility. District officials discussed the possible changes this month during a Transition 2020 workshop with the school board of trustees. The 2020 school year will make a major transition for the district as it opens its new high school and re-purposes the existing high school as the district’s second middle school. view article

We revisit a periodic issue. Two applicants seeking to replace Houston ISD Trustee Rhonda Skillern-Jones have failed to qualify for the November ballot, leaving five candidates running for the open seat, according to HISD officials. Michael Maloney, an athletics coach, and Arthur Smith, a T-shirt printer, failed to qualify due to issues with their signature petitions, district officials said. Candidates can pay a $300 fee or collect signatures from registered voters living within the voting district boundaries to earn a spot on the ballot. Maloney and Smith said they collected more than the required 266 signatures, but HISD officials said some signatures were invalid. view article

HARLINGEN — They’re the best in the state, and everyone knows it.  The Texas Association of School Administrators has just named the Harlingen CISD Board of Trustees the best in the state.  Everyone’s talking about it, especially Superintendent Art Cavazos, who nominated the board for the recognition. view article