Mansfield school board scheduled to discuss election during closed meeting
The Mansfield school board has called a special meeting for 7 a.m. Thursday, when it will consult with its attorney in a closed session regarding the election.
The agenda does not detail the item, but questions about the eligibility of Place 2 candidate Angel Hidalgo have swirled for months. The district approved his application to run in January.
The board will also discuss personnel in the closed session.
Hidalgo, a Spanish instructor at Tarrant County College, is running against Jandel Crutchfield, an associate professor of social work at UT Arlington, in the May 4 election.
Records obtained by the Star-Telegram show school board members and district employees knew for months that Hidalgo might be ineligible.
Some residents have expressed concerns that Hidalgo does not live in the district and is not qualified to run because he has not been registered at the same voting address for over six months — the duration of time required to run for school board. The district said in a statement Friday that it is still reviewing his eligibility.
Records obtained by the Star-Telegram on Friday show board president Courtney Lackey Wilson and school board member Desiree Thomas said in a text exchange on Feb. 7 that Hidalgo was not registered to vote in Tarrant County, weeks before the Feb. 23 deadline to remove him from the ballot.
Additionally, on March 19, a Tarrant County elections administration worker asked the district in an email if it had decided whether to keep Hidalgo on the ballot, weeks after the deadline.
Hidalgo has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
Early voting starts April 22.
