Alice ISD trustees hear public pleas for transparency on Place 3 vacancy, move to closed session on personnel

Alice Independent School District trustees met in a specially called session Thursday, June 19, in the Alice ISD boardroom and moved into a closed executive session to discuss applicants for the vacant Place 3 seat and several personnel matters after hearing two public commenters urging transparency in the appointment process.

Amanda Frederick, a resident of Alice and local business owner, told the board she was asking for “consideration for a fair selection process, to think outside the box, to be empathetic, and to really look beyond the lines of the paper,” and asked trustees to weigh applicants’ life experience in addition to resumes and letters.

Charles Radlett, identified in public comment as a resident, said he wanted the community to know who had applied for the Place 3 vacancy, adding that he supported Frederick as a candidate. “I would like to have seen that out where people would at least know who would be chosen out of that group to represent that voting precinct,” he said.

Before public comment, the presiding officer reviewed the district’s public-comment rules under board policy BED local, including the three-minute time limit and the requirement that comments at a specially called meeting be limited to items on the posted agenda.

The board first approved the consent agenda on a motion recorded in the meeting; the transcript did not list the consent items or a roll-call tally. Trustees then voted to convene an executive session at about 12:15 p.m. under Texas Government Code sections 551.071 (consultation with attorney) and 551.074 (personnel matters). The items listed for closed discussion included superintendent recommendations for hiring a chief financial officer and an executive director of federal programs, retirements, resignations, personnel investigations, consultation with counsel regarding applicants for the Place 3 trustee vacancy, and possible reorganization of board officer positions.

No personnel decisions or appointment outcomes were announced in open session during the portion of the meeting covered by the transcript. The board did not disclose the applicant list for Place 3 in the public portion recorded here.

The executive session notice and the public-comment remarks together signaled that trustees would consider both process questions about how they will fill the Place 3 vacancy and multiple confidential personnel items. The board is expected to resume public meeting procedures and announce any formal actions, if required, after concluding the executive session.