Board loses 1, gets back a familiar face

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July 18, 2012

Board loses 1, gets back a familiar face

Sally Sexton Weatherford Democrat The Weatherford Democrat Wed Jul 18, 2012, 07:43 AM CDT

WEATHERFORD —

The Springtown ISD board of trustees lineup underwent a little shuffle last week, as one board member resigned and was replaced by a familiar face.

Springtown ISD accepted the resignation of Place 7 trustee Kelly Mayo and appointed Al Garrett to the position Saturday after administering the oath of office.

Mayo, who resigned citing the nepotism laws, was first elected to the board in May of 2006.

“It’s been an honor to serve the staff and students of Springtown ISD, and the time that I spent on the board was always a pleasant experience,” he said.

Nepotism, as defined by the Texas Association of School Boards, addresses conflicts of interests, prohibiting a staff member from being hired if that staff member is related to the public official or another member of the board by blood within the third degree or by marriage. The third degree clause applies to parent or child (first degree), grandparent, grandchild, sister or brother (second degree), and great-grandparents, great-grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew (third degree).

“Basically, in order for us to hire someone who is an aunt, uncle, niece or nephew, and in this case niece, [Mayo] would have to step down, and then we’d have the opportunity to hire a member of his family,” Springtown superintendent Mike Kelley said.

The position in question was an elementary teacher slot.

“Unfortunately, we’ve had this sort of thing happen in the past, and it’s good that we’re getting a great teacher but you hate to lose a good board member,” Kelley said.

Garrett is no stranger to Springtown ISD events, and has experience serving as a board member from 1985 to 1997, holding the title of board secretary for three years and board president for three years.

Garrett was also appointed to fill a position in 1999 and in 2009. He accepted each time.

He will serve as Place 7 trustee until the next election, scheduled for next May.

Board slots weren’t the only positions to be filled last week, as the board heard several resignations from staff at the high school and junior high levels, including the position of school psychologist, girls’ head basketball coach, athletic trainer and junior high girls’ coach.

“We’ve had more change [in personnel] this summer than last summer,” Kelley said. “There are more opportunities and its opened up a little bit this year in a lot of places.

“We’re much closer to our average turnover.”

While the board and Kelley continue the application process for the coaching and training positions, Kelley said the psychologist position, which had interviews last week, has been offered to a woman from Weatherford.

“Fortunately, we were able to get some good applicants ready for that position,” Kelley said. “Some of the coaching positions are going to be pretty hard to fill. The timing of those has presented some real challenges.”