ROUND ROCK, Texas (Talk1370.com) -- In addition to considering an extension of the district's mask mandate, members of the Round Rock Independent School District school board will discuss censuring two trustees Wednesday night, according to a posted agenda.
Wednesday's scheduled meeting comes just over a week after a somewhat raucous board meeting on Sept. 14, when trustees were set to originally consider an extension of the district's mask mandate - a discussion that members are also set to pick back up Wednesday evening.
The board will consider separate resolutions to censure Place 2 Trustee Dr. Mary Bone and Place 7 Trustee Danielle Weston. According to the draft resolutions, Bone and Weston's "repeated failure to follow the Board President’s ruling and the decision of the Board of Trustees regarding social distancing led or contributed to the disruption" of the meeting.
Related
The resolutions say both trustees "repeatedly insisted on calling for a vote on spacing rules for the September 14, 2021 Board Meeting even though this matter was not on the agenda."
Bone and Weston both left the meeting. The remaining trustees eventually adjourned the meeting without completing the evening's agenda due to continued disruptions from members of the public, many of whom were expressing their frustrations at being blocked from entering the meeting room.
Weston's censure resolution also addresses "repeated demands" on Sept. 13 and Sept. 16 "that the District provide information on an accelerated or shortened timeframe," contrary to the 20-30 business days normally allowed under the Texas Education Code. Those demands, the resolution contends, "undermined the orderly governance of the District."
The resolutions say that the "disruptive actions" of Bone and Weston at the Sept. 14 meeting "brought unwanted and negative media and public attention to the District."
District officials have said they instituted a seating capacity limit in order to maintain social distancing measures; an overflow room with live video of the meeting was made available for those who could not be allowed into the room.
If the board approves the censure resolutions, the two would be referred to as "Censured Trustee Bone" and "Censured Trustee Weston" in all district communications, prohibited from holding a board officer position, prohibited from using district funds for official duties without board approval, and blocked from visiting district properties in their official capacities without board approval.
In regards to the mask mandate, the district's current mandate expired at 11:59 p.m. Friday night. In addition, a temporary restraining order sought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that would have blocked the order was set aside by the Third Court of Appeals Friday afternoon, allowing the district to once again enforce the mandate.
RRISD Superintendent Dr. Hafedh Azaiez will propose tying the district's mask mandate to risk stages set by local health authorities in Williamson and Travis Counties, based on a risk matrix.
Wednesday's meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at the Raymond Hartfield Performing Arts Center, located at 5800 McNeil Drive. It will be live-streamed online.
Listen on the Audacy app
Sign Up and become a Talk 1370 Insider
Follow us on Facebook & Twitter