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Roswell ISD elects James Edwards president, accepts Ashby resignation and opens application to fill vacancy

Roswell Independent School District Board of Education · January 13, 2026
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Summary

At its Jan. 12 meeting, the Roswell Independent School District board elected James Edwards as board president, retained Hilda Sanchez as vice president and selected Mona Kirk as secretary. The board accepted Jared Ashby’s resignation and approved an application and interview timeline to fill the District 2 seat.

The Roswell Independent School District Board of Education reorganized its leadership and opened a process to fill a board vacancy at its Jan. 12 meeting.

After debate over whether to delay reorganization until all members could attend, the board voted to proceed. James Edwards was nominated and elected president by roll call; the new president told the board, “Wish me good luck.” Hilda Sanchez was retained as vice president and Mona Kirk was elected secretary.

The reorganization followed discussion about a pending resignation by board member Jared Ashby. The board voted to accept Ashby’s resignation (the resignation and the board’s discussion referenced an effective date near Jan. 31) so the board could begin filling the seat. Counsel and staff advised that accepting the resignation allows the board to start the appointment process rather than wait for a special election.

The board approved a process to solicit applicants for the District 2 vacancy: an application will be posted online and hard copies made available at central office; candidates must reside in the district they seek to represent. The board set a short application window (posting discussed for Jan. 13 and a close after about 15 days, with a deadline discussed as 5 p.m. on Jan. 28 in the meeting). The board tentatively scheduled interviews for evenings following the close of applications and said interviews would occur in the RSD Boardroom after 5 p.m.; after interviews the board plans to meet (including executive session as allowed) to consider appointing a candidate. Counsel cited statute requiring the board to fill a vacancy by appointment or else the Secretary of Public Education will appoint a qualified person if the board does not act within 45 days.

The vote count on officer elections and on acceptance of the resignation was recorded by roll call with affirmative votes recorded for the actions. The board president turned the meeting over to James Edwards immediately after the president’s election.

Next steps: staff will post the application when available, accept resumes and applications during the advertised window, hold public interviews on the dates set by the board, and follow the board’s stated plan to select an appointee prior to the statutory deadline.