A majority of the Conroe Independent School District Board of Trustees voted 4-2 on Tuesday to appoint Agueda Gambino (the meeting transcript also refers to her as “Agata Gambino”) to fill the vacant Position 1 seat.

The board convened a special meeting at 5:04 p.m. Jan. 13 and entered closed session under Texas Government Code section 551.074 for candidate interviews. The board returned to open session at 9:26 p.m. and immediately considered the appointment. Trustee May moved to appoint the candidate; another trustee seconded the motion. The presiding officer called for a show of hands, and the motion carried 4-2. The board did not record individual roll-call votes in the open transcript.

The vote followed a lengthy discussion in which trustees both praised the candidate’s qualifications and criticized aspects of the selection process. Trustee May, who moved the appointment, described the candidate’s background in state legislative advocacy for dyslexia identification and special education funding, and said the candidate had served on multiple Conroe ISD committees, including the cell phone and community collaborative committees and the district’s special education parent advisory council. Trustee May also said community leaders and other supporters contacted the board after the list of applicants became public.

One trustee who seconded the motion outlined the panel’s screening approach, saying 20 candidates applied and that six were removed for failing to submit required materials such as a resume or references. “If you can’t do a basic application, then I don’t trust you to have attention to detail on a $760,000,000 budget,” that trustee said.

Other trustees raised procedural objections. One trustee said they had encountered inconsistent responses when requesting information from the board president and legal counsel and described the process as lacking transparency; another warned that when qualifications are not clearly the driving factor, “it creates the appearance of personal relationships or influencing outcomes.” Trustees who supported the appointment said the district publicly announced the application process, posted candidate information online and in social media, and advertised in the local newspaper.

The presiding officer told the meeting that the board had used a public call for applicants, published notice in the local paper, posted details on the district website and social channels, and used an application and interview protocol the board described as robust. The meeting record shows the board narrowed applicants to three recommendations before the interviews. The board thanked all who applied and those who attended the evening’s interviews.

The meeting was called to order at 5:04 p.m., the board entered closed session at 5:05 p.m., returned to open session at 9:26 p.m., and adjourned at 9:37 p.m.

The appointment takes effect immediately unless otherwise specified by board policy or state law; the transcript does not list any follow-up steps or an induction date for the new trustee.