Mercedes ISD board enters closed session to interview superintendent candidates and discuss personnel

The Mercedes Independent School District Board of Trustees convened in a closed executive session at 9:02 a.m. to discuss personnel matters, consult with legal counsel and interview candidates for the district superintendent position, the presiding officer said.

The presiding officer told the board, “The board of trustees will conduct a closed meeting in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act,” citing Texas Government Code, Chapter 551, Subchapters D and E, and specifically sections 551.071 (attorney consultation) and 551.074 (personnel). The presiding officer then listed the topics to be discussed in closed session.

According to the public transcript, the items enumerated for the executive session included: resignations, terminations, appointments, evaluations, reassignments, duties and discipline of professional, paraprofessional and noncontract employees; consultation with the district’s attorney regarding the superintendent hiring process; interviews of candidates for the superintendent position; and discussion and consideration of the superintendent appointment. The transcript records the board entering executive session but does not record any votes or outcomes from that closed meeting.

Before the executive session began, the presiding officer opened the public-comment period and asked whether anyone had signed up to speak; the transcript contains no public-comment remarks before the board moved into the closed session. The board’s announcement cited the specific statutory authorities that permit closed deliberations on personnel and attorney consultation under the Texas Open Meetings Act.

The available transcript ends with the board in executive session; no subsequent public actions or decisions were recorded in the provided excerpt.