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Residents urge Pasadena ISD board to fill trustee vacancy, allege closed‑door decision
Summary
Two public commenters told the Pasadena ISD board it erred by leaving the late Trustee Vicky Morgan’s seat vacant, alleging the board discussed the vacancy in executive session rather than publicly and urging a transparent appointment ahead of the May election.
Two residents told the Pasadena Independent School District Board of Trustees on Feb. 6 that the board failed to provide transparency after the death of Trustee Vicky Morgan by leaving her seat unfilled and discussing the matter behind closed doors.
Yen Robie, who identified herself as an educator with 24 years’ experience including 12 at Pasadena High School, said she attended the prior meeting when the board considered whether to fill the vacancy and that the board ‘‘announced that you would not fill the vacancy’’ after an executive session. "That is a violation of the Open Meetings Act because you did not discuss in public how and why the decision to not fill the board vacancy" she said, urging the board to reconsider and to "discuss it in public instead of in executive session."
The concern was echoed by Edward Valdez, a 2020 graduate of Pasadena High School, who said the board’s decision to leave the seat vacant "denies the people's ability to select their representative" and called it "taxation without representation." Valdez asked why the matter was discussed behind closed doors and pressed the board to take action so that the community could choose its representative.
A board representative responded after Robie’s remarks, saying the website error that briefly showed the fifth position was the district’s fault and not the board’s, and noting the district was grieving the loss of a long‑serving trustee. The representative said the board would review options and come back to the public.
Why it matters: The commenters framed the vacancy as a matter of democratic representation and open‑meetings compliance ahead of the May election; the board did not announce a final public appointment on Feb. 6. The board moved into closed session later in the meeting and took multiple formal actions after reconvening.
The board did not record a public vote to appoint a replacement during the open session on Feb. 6. The next procedural steps were not announced at the meeting’s close.
