SRISD board approves settlement in Airflo Company case after executive session

The Santa Rosa Independent School District Board of Trustees voted Jan. 20 to approve a settlement agreement in Airflo Company v. SRISD (Cause No. 2024-CCL-00139) following a closed executive session. Board President Kelly R. Ballin reconvened the meeting at about 7:15 p.m. and the trustees voted 7-0 to approve the agreement.

Trustee Rachel Olivarez moved to approve the settlement; Norma Ovalle seconded the motion. The minutes record: "MOTION: Rachel Olivarez SECOND Norma Ovalle VOTE: Motion Carries 7-0." The board had gone into executive session earlier under Texas Government Code Sections 551.071, 551.072, 551.074 and 551.082 to consult with counsel and discuss litigation and personnel matters.

During the public-comment period, resident Rene Rangel asked the board to be transparent about Item 10-C, saying, "if there is a settlement on 10-C. He stated that the school district needs to be transparent. Are they suing the school district or are we receiving funds? I would like to know the amount and hopefully if we owe that it is not execussive because we have expenses for our children and if so that there is sometype of negoation." The transcript supplied to the public record did not include any dollar figure for the settlement in the open session discussion.

The board did not provide additional details about settlement terms or amounts on the public record segments included in the meeting packet. The action on the settlement was listed in the meeting's reconvened open session and recorded as approved; the board’s legal counsel participated in the executive-session consultation noted on the agenda.