Temporary restraining order blocks Round Rock ISD from considering resolutions to censure two trustees

District Communications Public Affairs Manager Jenny LaCoste-Caputo said a hearing for the suit had been set for Oct. 6.

Bone and Weston were the subject of recent controversy when they abruptly left a Sept. 14 board meeting following two recesses called after a vote to amend seating arrangements in the lecture hall to allow more capacity. Bone and Weston were the lone "no" votes in a motion that sought to not add seating capacity to the venue.

Jenny LaCoste-Caputo, RRISD public affairs and communication manager, told Community Impact Newspaper the trustees had left of their own volition and were not removed.

At the Sept. 22 meeting, RRISD student Emma Ray spoke against the district, accusing the board of censoring its board members.

"I will never mind diverse opinions of anybody," Ray said. "But with censorship, that doesn't really allow that. With diverse opinions, it means you're representing every student no matter what they believe. But, if you have a censorship of certain members, that means I personally am not being represented."

Ben Sterling, president of RRISD employee union Education Round Rock, spoke in support of the measures to censure the trustees.

"Their disregard for the safety of those around them draws [into] stark question their ability to make decisions about the health and safety of our students, staff and community," Sterling said.

On Sept. 20, documentation of the full resolutions was added to the district's meeting agenda.

Both resolutions cited the two trustees' "disruptive actions," at a Sept. 14 board meeting.

The first resolution cited Bone and Weston for calling for a vote on the socially distanced seating arrangement even though that was not an item on the agenda.

The second cited "repeated failure to follow the Board President’s ruling and the decision of the Board of Trustees."

Community Impact Newspaper previously reported that the resolutions were added as agenda items at the request of other board members.

"Several Board members have requested that the censure of Trustees Bone and Weston be added to a Board agenda," Board President Amy Weir said in a statement to Community Impact Newspaper.