Edgewood ISD board votes to publicly censure trustee Michael Valdez

Edgewood Independent School District trustees voted Sept. 8 to adopt a resolution publicly censuring Trustee Michael Valdez and imposing sanctions that include removal from committees, an immediate travel ban on district-related travel, ineligibility for election as a board officer in 2025 and 2026, and a requirement that Valdez complete additional governance training by October 2025. The vote followed a closed-session review and more than 20 minutes of public comment earlier in the meeting.

The censure resolution, read aloud by board counsel and introduced in open session after a closed-session discussion under Texas Government Code §551.071, cited Board operating procedures and board ethics and found that Valdez’s remarks to the media in August 2025 “were in violation of the board operating procedures and board ethics.” Board attorney Cruz described a sanction as a formal reprimand and told the board that a sanction does not remove an elected official from office: “The board of trustees does not have the authority to remove a board member from his or her elected position. The only ones that can remove a board member from an elected position is either the electorate or a district court judge.” Cruz…