Robert Schneider was first elected to the Austin ISD board of trustees in 2002.[/caption]
The Austin ISD board of trustees will be accepting applications for potential District 7 appontees following the death of an incumbent board member.
On Aug. 17, the board continued its discussion on how to fill the vacancy after District 7 trustee Robert Schneider died on July 28. The two outcomes under consideration were the appointment of the runner-up who ran against Schneider in the November 2014 District 7 election or an open application process for evaluating multiple candidates.
Trustees settled on an open application process after making arguments for both sides.
District 1 trustee Edmund Gordon said the appointment of the runner-up is the “cleanest and most objective” way to fill the vacancy. Gordon said in previous board meetings that the runner-up appointment has been performed by other school districts in similar situations.
District 3 trustee Ann Teich said she prefers the application process because she has heard more community support for that method as opposed to appointing the runner-up.
“To me, [an open application process] is the fairest way to go right now,” Teich said. “It’s not as clean and fast as appointing the runner-up, but I do want to honor the majority of people … from District 7 who have weighted in really thoughtful ways, considerate ways about this whole thing.”
District 7 boundaries fall within Southwest Austin. Area residents have been anticipating the board’s decision on whether it is going to buy land in Southwest Austin or Southeast Austin for the future use of a new high school, as Bowie High School in Southwest Austin has capacity issues.
The board previously debated holding a special election in November or appointing an interim trustee in the position until the November 2016 elections. The motion for a special election in November failed by a 4-4 vote during the Aug. 10 meeting.
The motion for an interim appointment also failed by a 4-4 vote on Aug. 10. But by default, the board had to proceed with an appointment.
The board meets again Aug. 25 to finalize details and approve the criteria and timeline for the open application process.
Robert Schneider was first elected to the Austin ISD board of trustees in 2002.[/caption]
The Austin ISD board of trustees will be accepting applications for potential District 7 appontees following the death of an incumbent board member.
On Aug. 17, the board continued its discussion on how to fill the vacancy after District 7 trustee Robert Schneider died on July 28. The two outcomes under consideration were the appointment of the runner-up who ran against Schneider in the November 2014 District 7 election or an open application process for evaluating multiple candidates.
Trustees settled on an open application process after making arguments for both sides.
District 1 trustee Edmund Gordon said the appointment of the runner-up is the “cleanest and most objective” way to fill the vacancy. Gordon said in previous board meetings that the runner-up appointment has been performed by other school districts in similar situations.
District 3 trustee Ann Teich said she prefers the application process because she has heard more community support for that method as opposed to appointing the runner-up.
“To me, [an open application process] is the fairest way to go right now,” Teich said. “It’s not as clean and fast as appointing the runner-up, but I do want to honor the majority of people … from District 7 who have weighted in really thoughtful ways, considerate ways about this whole thing.”
District 7 boundaries fall within Southwest Austin. Area residents have been anticipating the board’s decision on whether it is going to buy land in Southwest Austin or Southeast Austin for the future use of a new high school, as Bowie High School in Southwest Austin has capacity issues.
The board previously debated holding a special election in November or appointing an interim trustee in the position until the November 2016 elections. The motion for a special election in November failed by a 4-4 vote during the Aug. 10 meeting.
The motion for an interim appointment also failed by a 4-4 vote on Aug. 10. But by default, the board had to proceed with an appointment.
The board meets again Aug. 25 to finalize details and approve the criteria and timeline for the open application process.
