Harris County Board met in executive session to interview superintendent applicants and consult counsel

The Harris County Board of Education convened an executive session at the start of its July 17 regular meeting to address personnel and legal matters, including interviews of applicants for the position of superintendent. At the opening of the meeting a motion was made to be excused to executive session to "discuss or deliberate upon the appointment, employment, compensation, hiring, disciplinary action, or dismissal, or periodic evaluation or rating of a public officer or employee, or to interview applicants for the position of superintendent; to consider a matter involving the disclosure of personally identifiable information from a student's educational record; and to consult and meet with legal counsel pertaining to pending or potential litigation," language read into the public record by the presiding officer. The motion to move into executive session was made and seconded by board members Mr. Green and Mr. Johnston, respectively, and the board recessed. Later in the meeting the board moved to exit executive session; that motion was made by Mr. Goodno and seconded by Mr. Proctor, and the board returned to open session. The public transcript does not record any executive-session deliberations, recommendations or votes on superintendent appointment decisions. No action or personnel decisions were disclosed on the record when the board returned to open session. The board proceeded with the publicly posted agenda after exiting executive session. Because state law generally protects privileged executive-session deliberations, the board did not disclose details of interviews, student-record matters or legal consultation in the open record captured by the transcript.