South San Antonio ISD board finds no cause to say counselor abandoned contract; will report to SBEC

The South San Antonio ISD Board of Trustees voted March 16 after a closed-session review that there was no finding of contract abandonment by counselor Alyssa Gomez and directed the superintendent to report the matter to the State Board for Educator Certification.

Gomez, a school counselor at Hutchins Elementary, spoke during the public comment period earlier in the meeting. "My name is Alyssa Gomez," she told trustees, describing 11 years in education and what she said were longstanding contributions to students and community programs. She asked the board to consider her ongoing commitment as it weighed a proposed sanction to her educator certification.

After a closed session under Texas Government Code provisions for personnel and legal consultation, a motion was made in open session stating the board had not found good cause to conclude the employee had abandoned her contract and recommended the superintendent report the matter to SBEC. The motion was seconded and passed by roll call.

The board did not release additional details about the closed-session deliberations at the time of the vote. Board rules shown at the start of the meeting state that items discussed in closed session remain confidential; trustees indicated the board took the return-to-open-session action required for formal record. The motion and roll call were taken in open session and recorded in the meeting minutes.

The district will follow statutory reporting procedures to notify SBEC as the board directed. The trustee action does not itself change the educator certification status; any change to a certification would be handled through TEA/SBEC processes described by state law.