Public speakers urge Pasadena ISD board to publicly fill vacancy, cite open-meetings concerns

Two members of the public told the Pasadena Independent School District Board of Trustees on Thursday that the board should publicly address filling the vacancy left by the late Trustee Vicky Morgan and accused trustees of deciding to leave the seat open in private.

Yen Ra Bey, an educator with two dozen years of experience including 12 years at Pasadena High School, told the board she was at the prior meeting when trustees did not fill the vacancy and said that omission “is a violation of the Open Meetings Act.” She said leaving the seat off the upcoming May ballot denied taxpayers a chance to choose a representative.

Former Pasadena High School student Edward Valdez told trustees he was “here today as a student and a concerned community member” and said the board’s earlier decision amounted to “taxation without representation.” Valdez said the decision was reached “behind those doors” during a meeting scheduled midweek when many members of the public could not attend.

A district staff member acknowledged a website error that earlier showed a fifth election position and said the posting mistake was the district’s fault, noting the community and board were grieving the loss of a long-serving trustee.

No formal board action to fill the vacancy was taken during the special session. Trustees did not place an appointment or election-change motion on the record at the time the public comments were made.

Why it matters: The vacancy affects whether voters will see a fifth trustee position on the May 2025 ballot and has prompted public questions about transparency and compliance with Texas open-meetings rules.

Trustees present at the special session included Trustee Kenny Fernandez, Trustee Paola Gonzales, Trustee Marshall Kendrick, Trustee Nilda Sullivan and Trustee M. E. Casey Phelan; Trustee Davila was recorded as arriving during the meeting. The board did not announce a final decision on filling the seat during the open session recorded in the meeting transcript.

Community members who raised the issue asked the board to reconsider and to discuss appointment options in public rather than in executive session. The board record at the start of the meeting noted that notice had been posted “in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code Chapter 551.”

For now, the board’s handling of the vacancy remains a topic of public comment rather than a recorded board action.