The Tyler Independent School District Board of Trustees on Monday proposed terminating the chapter 21 term employment contract of Laura Cawley, extended the superintendent's contract for one year to preserve a three-year term, and approved a slate of routine business items, including acceptance of a $200,000 donation from the Tyler ISD Foundation.

Board President Washburn opened the business portion of the meeting by announcing action items from executive session and asking for motions. A trustee moved that the board "propose the termination of the chapter 21 term employment contract of Laura Cawley for good cause," the motion was seconded and carried on a voice vote. The board then voted to extend the superintendent's contract by one year "to keep a three year term of employment"; that motion also passed on a voice vote.

The board approved minutes from its Dec. 16 meeting and accepted the external audit report for fiscal year 2023-24 after a presentation by the district's external auditors. The trustees approved the business, legal, finance and consent agenda items (items a through g), accepted a $200,000 check from the Tyler ISD Foundation, and approved a clinical affiliation sponsorship agreement with Texas Woman's University for a speech-language pathology placement. All actions were approved by voice vote with the chair announcing "ayes have it."

Several of the votes were routine or procedural and recorded as voice votes rather than roll-call tallies; the meeting record shows no roll-call vote counts or named yes/no votes in the transcript. The board also received quarterly financial and investment reports from Chief Financial Officer Casey Russell and set upcoming meetings, including a workshop Feb. 6 and a regular meeting Feb. 17, and noted the May 3, 2025 trustee election for districts 1, 3 and 6.

The board's motion to propose termination is the beginning of a formal personnel process under Chapter 21 employment rules; the transcript records the motion and its passage but does not include further procedural details such as an effective date, appeal rights, or whether the termination was agreed or contested. The clinical affiliation agreement was described as a "unique situation" involving time during the school day for a candidate completing master's requirements; the board said the arrangement was reviewed in executive session and approved on the consent agenda.