The Levelland ISD Board of Trustees is seeking a candidate to fill an open trustee position.
The trustee position is an At-Large position that expires in 2026. Per Texas Education Code §11.060, the appointed trustee will serve until the next trustee election and will be required to run for a continued position in the May 2025 election.
Eligibility for anyone seeking a position as a Levelland ISD Board Member can be found in Policy BBA – Board Members: Eligibility/Qualifications. A copy of Policy BBA is attached. Interested individuals are asked to submit a letter of interest to the Levelland ISD Board of Trustees. The letter should be in a sealed envelope and must be received by 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 18.
Letters of interest should be delivered to the Levelland ISD Central Office, located at 704 11th Street, Levelland, Texas 79336.
The Levelland ISD Board of Trustees will convene in a special board meeting on Wednesday, July 31 at 6 p.m. to interview selected candidates and appoint a board member for the At-Large position.
Additional information can be obtained by contacting Rebecca McCutchen, Levelland ISD Superintendent of Schools, at 806-894-9628 or 704 11th Street, Levelland, Texas 79336.
To be eligible to be a candidate for, or elected or appointed to, the office of school board member, a person must: Be a United States citizen; Be 18 years of age or older on the first day of the term to be filled at the election or on the date of appointment, as applicable; Have not been determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote; Have not been finally convicted of a felony from which the person has not been pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities; Have resided continuously in the state for 12 months and in the territory from which the office is elected for six months immediately preceding the following date: For an independent candidate, the date of the regular filing deadline for a candidate’s application for a place on the ballot.
For a write-in candidate, the date of the election at which the candidate’s name is written in.
For an appointee to an office, the date the appointment is made; Be registered to vote in the territory from which the office is elected on the date described above.
A candidate for board member representing a singlemember district must be a resident of the district the candidate seeks to represent. Education Code 11.052(g) A person is ineligible to serve as a member of the board of a district if the person has been convicted of a felony or an offense under Penal Code 43.021 (solicitation of prostitution).
Available on the Levelland ISD website is a tab named “school board” which interested parties will be able to find the vacancy notice, board member eligibility and qualifications along with board policy and board operating procedures.
In terms of board operating procedures: The Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) policy service is the current entity which produces both original and updates for the policy manual, based on input from the board. A periodic review of all policies is necessary to ensure that current district practices are in concert with thepolicies that are in place, as well as to identify local board policies which are in need of update. The superintendent and board president work together to ensure this is completed.
New board members are encouraged to complete TASB’s curriculum for new board members entitled “TASB ISD.” This will ensure that a new board member receives the training that is important for his/her first year as a board member. Information is available from TASB on this program.
New Board members should make contact with the superintendent after they are sworn in, and coordinate the completion of the initial three hours of board member orientation. New board members shall complete a district orientation with the superintendent and a board orientation with the board president during their first month of their term. Typically, all annual board member training requirements can be completed at annual conventions. However, there are board training sessions that are scheduled throughout the year at various convenient locations.
All board members will work through the superintendent on any matters pertaining to the execution of board policy or other district matters. The superintendent is the one who is tasked with the execution of board policy and must be given the opportunity to do so.
Each board member must understand their role. The board member is elected as a “board member,” not a representative, and as such is tasked with making decisions that are in the best interest of the district. Any complaints received by board members should be referred to the superintendent for disposition. There is a board policy in place which outlines the procedures for filing a grievance and those procedures should be followed.
If at all possible, the individual with a complaint should be asked to confer with the appropriate teacher or campus administrator first. Complaints should be resolved at the lowest administrative level.
Board members shall request information and/or reports through the board president or superintendent. If the board president or superintendent questions the request, the request goes to the full board for a majority vote.
Members may also request information by board action or by the request of an individual member made in a board meeting after discussion by the board as a whole.
The superintendent, as requested or as directed by the board president, will gather the information and/or report and disseminate it in a timely manner to the entire board. A board member should never involve themselves in a situation where they are deemed to be “trying to run the campus.” Board members shall not go unannounced into any individual building or teacher’s classroom for the purpose of evaluation. Upon arrival at the campus, board members must check in at the principal’s office. An individual board member has no authority, unless the board as a whole grants that authority.
The superintendent and the board president will meet prior to the official posting of the agenda for the next regularly scheduled meeting and develop the agenda. Any board member may request that an item be included on the agenda for a meeting, and the superintendent shall include on the agenda of any meeting all board member- requested topics that have been timely submitted.
Agenda items must be specific to the discussion item. In accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act, no item can be placed on the agenda less than 72 hours in advance of the meeting, except in an emergency as defined by the Texas Open Meetings Act.
The board president is primarily responsible for the conduct of any board meeting. The vice president shall fulfill this responsibility in the president’s absence. Board meetings must be held within the boundaries of the district except as otherwise required by law or to hold a joint meeting with another district. Four board members constitutes a quorum for meetings of the board.
When closed meetings are allowed, the board shall first convene with a quorum in open session, then move into the closed session. Following the closed session, if any action is to be taken, it must be taken in public after reconvening the open session. The board can discuss only those items listed on the agenda as limited by law.
Legitimate reasons for closed sessions are as follows: attorney consultation, discussion of real property acquisitions, prospective gifts or donations to district, personnel matters, student discipline, employeeemployee complaints, school security and assessment instruments.
Board members are reminded that only those discussion items allowed by State law may be discussed in closed session.
An Open Forum for public comment is provided at the beginning of each board meeting. See Levelland ISD Board Policy for specifics. Board members should refrain from direct discussion with any person making comments during this time.
At regular board meetings, audience participation will be permitted on any topic, regardless of whether the topic is an item on the agenda posted with notice of the meeting. At all other board meetings, audience participation shall be limited to items on the agenda posted with notice of the meeting. Audience participation at a board meeting is limited to the portion of the meeting designated for that purpose.
At all other times during a board meeting, the audience shall not enter into discussion or debate on matters being considered by the board, unless recognized by the presiding officer.
At the Open Forum time on the agenda, members of the audience may address the board for no more than five minutes. The Board will not entertain comments on individual personnel or on individual students in public session. Specific factual information or recitation of existing policy may be furnished in response to inquiries, but the board shall not deliberate or decide regarding any subject that is not included on the agenda posted with notice of the meeting.