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Beaumont ISD board elects officers, ratifies acting superintendent, seeks TEA waiver and temporarily suspends local policies
Summary
At its May 5 meeting the TEA-appointed Beaumont ISD board unanimously elected Jeff Wheeler president and Arthur Lewis Jr. secretary, ratified Sandy Massey as acting superintendent and voted to submit a temporary waiver of the superintendent certification requirement and to temporarily suspend several local policies while it conducts a review.
The Beaumont Independent School District board of managers, appointed by the Texas Education Agency, conducted several formal actions at a May 5 meeting, unanimously electing officers, ratifying an acting superintendent’s employment terms, voting to request a temporary certification waiver and temporarily suspending multiple local policies pending review.
A board member nominated Jeff Wheeler for board president; the nomination passed by unanimous vote. Wheeler said he was "humbled" to serve and noted the board and superintendent will represent about 16,000 students in the district.
A subsequent nomination for board secretary for Arthur Lewis Jr. passed unanimously; Lewis thanked his colleagues and pledged to serve the district.
The board moved to consider and approve Sandy Massey as acting superintendent and to ratify an acting-superintendent employment and relocation agreement. The motion passed by unanimous vote. Massey thanked the board and said she is relocating to Beaumont and looks forward to working with the community.
Board members then voted unanimously to submit an application to the Texas Education Agency Commissioner of Education for a temporary waiver of the superintendent certification requirement. The board described the waiver as temporary (up to three years) and said it requires the superintendent to obtain Texas superintendent certification before the waiver expires; board comments indicated Massey will complete the credentialing process prior to the start of the next school year.
The board also voted to temporarily suspend a set of local policies (BDAA, BE, BJA, DC, DCB, DCD, DCE, DK, DP) to allow time for a comprehensive review of meeting schedules and hiring practices. The board emphasized the suspension would not supersede any state or federal law or any local policy provision that is required by law (for example, due process or contract-employee rights).
Votes at a glance: - Election of board president: Jeff Wheeler — nomination passed by unanimous vote. - Election of board secretary: Arthur Lewis Jr. — nomination passed by unanimous vote. - Ratify acting superintendent and approve employment/relocation agreement: Sandy Massey — motion passed by unanimous vote. - Submit application to TEA Commissioner for temporary superintendent certification waiver (up to 3 years, requires certification before expiration): motion passed by unanimous vote. - Temporary suspension of local policies (BDAA, BE, BJA, DC, DCB, DCD, DCE, DK, DP) to permit policy review: motion passed by unanimous vote.
The meeting concluded with thanks to community members and staff; the board indicated it will review the suspended policies and return with recommended revisions at a future meeting.
