Laredo ISD board authorizes TASB to conduct superintendent search, directs extension to December 2025

The Laredo ISD Board of Trustees on April 30 voted to retain the Texas Association of School Boards' executive search services to provide candidates for the district's next superintendent and directed that the search be extended through December 2025.

The board authorized legal counsel Sigifredo Perez to retain TASB to begin the search. A trustee moved to approve retaining TASB's Executive Services Search Department; a second was voiced and the motion proceeded to discussion and a voice vote that passed.

During discussion, Trustee Martinez raised concerns that a three-month search would likely surface candidates who had been runners-up in other districts and urged a longer timeline to broaden the candidate pool. "I really feel that, a much better option would be to extend the search at least all the way up until... we hire someone that could start in January," Martinez said, arguing a longer search would attract candidates who had not recently applied elsewhere.

Trustee Somorales offered an amendment directing TASB to extend the search and to "provide up to at least December of 2025 and provide us a list of finalists" during that period; the amendment was accepted, seconded and incorporated into the motion. A district representative described the TASB process as including an initial planning session, community and trustee focus groups to define qualifications, and subsequent candidate recruitment and vetting. The transcript records the board approving the motion and amendment by voice vote.

The board did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript. The meeting discussion noted an initial TASB target timeline of roughly 90 days from start to finish, but the board's amendment lengthened the timetable to allow finalists to be presented through December 2025.