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Laredo ISD trustees keep Juan Ramirez as president after debate over officer term length
Summary
The Laredo ISD Board voted Dec. 2 to retain Juan Ramirez as board president after trustees debated whether officer terms should be extended to align with election cycles; the board also approved a slate of officers for vice president, secretary and parliamentarian.
The Laredo Independent School District Board of Trustees voted Dec. 2 to keep Juan Ramirez as board president after a brief but pointed discussion about whether officer terms should be tied to election cycles.
Trustees nominated Goyo Lopez for the presidency, but Lopez declined the nomination and the motion ultimately failed. A second motion to retain Juan Ramirez passed on an affirmative voice vote. The board then approved a slate of officers: Goyo Lopez as vice president, Veronica Ardono as secretary and Rodolfo Morales as parliamentarian.
"I don't mind, you know, whoever you guys want to vote in as president," Trustee Monica Garcia said during debate, arguing the presidency should rotate "so everybody else can get the opportunity to at least experience the presidency." Garcia said she could not support keeping the same person in the role repeatedly for reasons of equity.
Dr. Gilberto Martinez proposed a different approach, suggesting officers be elected every election cycle so leadership could pursue a two-year agenda. "What if we elected our officers every time we...every time we had elections...so that way, the board leadership can have their agenda for 2 years instead of 1 year," Martinez said, framing the idea as a possible policy change rather than current practice.
Trustees clarified that current policy calls for an annual reorganization of officer positions and that any move to extend terms would require a formal policy change. "It says after the elections, that's when the board..." one trustee explained during the exchange.
After discussion, the chair called the question and the board recorded an affirmative voice vote to retain Ramirez; the transcript records the motion passing but does not include a roll-call tally.
The board then voted to confirm Lopez as vice president, Veronica Ardono as secretary and Rodolfo Morales as parliamentarian. The presiding officer congratulated the newly appointed officers.
The meeting adjourned following routine communications and acknowledgements to outgoing members and district staff. The board scheduled discussion of governance policies and the district's revised vision and belief statements for a future regular meeting.
