Edcouch-Elsa ISD board approves voluntary separation of superintendent, names interim

The Edcouch-Elsa ISD Board of Trustees voted May 21 to approve a voluntary separation agreement with the district superintendent and to appoint Doctor Sandra Chojang as interim superintendent.

The motion to approve the voluntary separation agreement was made in open session following an executive session discussion; Mr. Torres moved the approval and a trustee seconded. The board approved the separation by voice vote.

For the interim appointment, Trustee Pena asked the board to read the district's nepotism/grandfather clause language. Board counsel (reading board policy DBE) told trustees the nepotism prohibitions do not apply to the appointment of a person if that person was employed immediately before the election or appointment and the employment was continuous for the statutory period; the counsel cited Government Code section 573.0628 during the reading.

After discussion, Mr. Torres moved to name Doctor Sandra Chojang as interim superintendent “at no additional cost to the budget.” The motion was seconded by Miss Vasquez. During the vote the board recorded one abstention and one nay; trustees otherwise voiced approval and the motion carried.

Trustees also returned to open session to approve personnel items discussed in executive session — including summer-school personnel — by voice vote.

The transcript does not include the full text of the separation agreement, the financial terms, or the identity of the trustee who cast the abstention or the nay. The board's legal counsel and trustees said the interim naming fell under the board's continuous-employment (grandfather) exception in policy DBE and the cited Texas Government Code provision.