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TASB consultant urges Uvalde CISD trustees to streamline procedures, add question form and tighten decorum
Summary
A TASB consultant led a detailed review of Uvalde CISD's board operating procedures, recommending removal of a two-year officer term, a one-year president qualification, a Google form for trustee questions, clearer rules barring trustees from directing staff, and quarterly superintendent check-ins with a July summative evaluation.
Esperanza Orozco, a TASB board consultant and Hays CISD trustee, led a workshop with Uvalde CISD trustees to redline and discuss the district's board operating procedures, pressing for clearer governance language and procedures intended to improve meeting efficiency, transparency and legal alignment.
"Board trustees shall not direct or supervise district employees, period," Orozco told the board, urging changes to local wording to prevent individual trustees from issuing informal instructions to staff. She also reviewed areas for customization in local policy and flagged inconsistent language referencing officer terms that she recommended remove or rewrite to align with district practice.
Trustees debated terms for board officers and agreed to remove an explicit two-year fixed term for officers from the procedures, replacing it with language that would require the board president to have at least one year of service. Orozco said reorganization should occur immediately after swearing in newly elected trustees, and she offered scripts and sample motions to standardize consent-agenda practice.
To improve information equity and reduce last-minute board discussion, Orozco proposed a Google form for trustees to submit agenda questions in advance. "This, like, just like how your superintendent will send a newsletter'it is a static document," she said, explaining submissions would populate a staff-administered spreadsheet so all trustees receive the same answers and the district can track time and costs associated with requests.
On personnel authority, Orozco reviewed existing local policy that delegates superintendent hiring authority from May 1 to Sept. 1 and recommended adding an explicit requirement that the superintendent inform the board of hires made under that delegation. She also urged guardrails for closed sessions so deliberations remain focused and do not expand into unrelated complaints or investigations.
Other proposals discussed included formalized processes for handling grievances (with a recommendation to hold grievance hearings separately rather than during regular meetings), guidance that trustees avoid inserting themselves at emergency incident scenes so as not to create conflicts or interfere with incident command, and adopting a regular schedule for superintendent performance review (quarterly formative check-ins in October, January and April, with a July summative evaluation).
Trustees raised Open Meetings Act concerns about the proposed question-and-answer ledger; Orozco said the static spreadsheet would be a public record but is distinguishable from back-and-forth deliberations that would trigger meeting-notice rules. She said attorneys vary in conservatism on this approach and the board should align its procedures with its counsel as needed.
The workshop included practical coaching on running meetings: structured recognition to ensure equitable participation (alternating right/left), using "temperature checks" to avoid late-night decision-making, clearer consent-agenda scripts and sample censure language drawn from other districts in cases of trustee misconduct. Orozco distributed Robert's Rules quick guides for officers at the meeting's end.
Board members thanked Orozco for the session and agreed to review the redlined draft and recommended edits for future adoption. The workshop concluded with a plan to reconvene on outstanding items such as grievances and any remaining yellow-highlighted edits.
