Pflugerville school board calls for May 7 election for three seats
The Pflugerville school board on Thursday night called for an election on May 7 to fill three expiring seats.
The spots up for election are the Place 3 seat held by Board President Renae Mitchell, the Place 4 seat held by Vernagene Mott, and the Place 5 seat held by Brian Allen. All three trustees are running for re-election.
Mitchell was first elected to the board of trustees in 2016. Mott has been serving since 2004 and Allen was elected in 2019, according to the district's website. Trustees serve three-year, unpaid terms.
The filling period for the election opened on Jan. 19 and will remain open until 5 p.m. on Feb. 18. The last day to declare a write-in candidacy is Feb. 22.
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The board also unanimously approved a list of recommendations from the district's Legislative Advocacy Committee.
On behalf of the committee,Trustee Cindy Gee presented the board with several priorities for the next Texas legislative session in 2023, including changing how funding is calculated for school districts, a state-funded pay increase for teachers and truancy intervention. For academics the committee recommended prioritizing flexibility in testing , pausing academic ratings for campuses and districts, opposing legislation that promotes the creation/funding of charter schools and for the state to increase support for campus safety.
Gee said that although the Legislature will not meet for another year, the committee will continue to push for the needs of the district.
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Additionally, the committee recommended the board press for flexibility of teacher certifications and to broaden restrictions and requirements to mitigate the current teacher shortage, including allowing high school GED or equivalent documents to prove qualification for substitute teachers and to impose consequences for employees who break their contract mid-year, Gee said.
"We just wanted to make sure that our public was aware that we are going to continue to push for these items," Gee said.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Pflugerville school board calls for May 7 election for three seats
