Round Rock ISD board votes to have trustee attend ethics training

Editor's note: When contacted for comment, board member Danielle Weston sent a statement and said "you may use this quote if used in its entirety." Community Impact Newspaper is an unbiased, nonpartisan media outlet. Part of maintaining our journalistic integrity means that we cannot allow sources, community leaders or elected officials to dictate the content of our stories. We have declined to publish the full statement.

The Round Rock ISD board of trustees voted 4-1 on June 14 to require Place 7 Trustee Danielle Weston to undergo ethics training in the next 90 days following concerns regarding disclosures she made via email to members of the public.

The board's decision refers to claims from district Trustee Amy Weir, who during a Dec. 16, 2021 meeting cited the RRISD legal staff's concerns that Weston had shared emails with members of the public that contained information bound by attorney-client privilege.

The board met in closed session during the June 14 meeting and did not provide further details regarding the decision to recommend Weston undergo ethics training. The board also did not divulge if or when the matter would be revisited.

Ahead of the vote, Place 6 Trustee Tiffanie Harrison stated that the action is part of a sanction in accordance with the board's policies.

Place 1 Trustee Jun Xiao was the lone dissenting vote, and he did not elaborate on the reason for his vote during the meeting. Place 2 Trustee Mary Bone and Weston were not present at the board meeting.

The action comes after the board engaged law firm Waddell Serafino in December 2021 to examine the emails Weston sent and determine whether further investigation was warranted.

A report of the firm's findings was also made public by board vote, and will be made available on the district's website.