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Laredo ISD board adopts targeted hiring freeze after heated debate over TASB staffing study
Summary
At its Sept. 12 meeting the Laredo Independent School District board approved a hiring‑freeze resolution with specific exemptions after lengthy debate over a TASB staffing review that identified large staffing imbalances and potential savings; trustees directed the superintendent to convene a workshop to develop options.
The Laredo Independent School District Board of Trustees voted Sept. 12 to implement targeted cost‑saving measures that include a hiring freeze for many non‑instructional positions while explicitly exempting police, security officers, bus drivers, special‑education teacher aides and essential teaching positions.
Trustees debated whether to adopt an immediate freeze or wait for a superintendent‑led budget workshop. Trustee Rudolfo Morales, citing the TASB staffing review introduced to the board, said the study “identify[ed] $16,000,000 of over staffing,” a figure he said the board could not ignore. Morales urged a methodical, multi‑year approach to workforce reductions by attrition rather than abrupt layoffs.
Superintendent Dr. Sylvia Rios pushed back against an immediate freeze and asked trustees to allow administrators time to present options tied to final budget figures. “I am asking you to not consider the freeze,” Dr. Rios said, urging the board to weigh campus needs and student outcomes before blocking all hires. She said administration had already identified roughly $985,000 to $1,800,000 in savings from not filling vacancies and noted that final budget numbers would be available in October–November.
Board members amended the original motion during debate to carve out further exceptions, including teacher assistant 1 positions, cafeteria workers and deaf‑education interpreters. After those amendments were accepted and votes were recorded in open session, the motion passed. The board’s roll‑call reflects a majority in favor with multiple trustees voting to approve the amended measure and two trustees recorded as opposing the motion.
Trustees said the action is intended to preserve the district’s instructional capacity while the administration develops a step‑by‑step plan to address structural budget pressures. The board also directed Dr. Rios to schedule a workshop so trustees could review staffing options from departments and campuses before any further action.
What happens next: Administration will return to trustees with identified options and timing for attrition‑driven changes and cost‑saving measures. The board emphasized that exemptions permit filling mission‑critical roles during the freeze and that any future personnel reductions would be carried out in stages rather than by immediate large‑scale layoffs.
