Candidate’s name initially had not been divulged the public
Marfa
The Marfa ISD School Board met Wednesday night with plans to discuss the appointment of a new board member to replace Stela Fuentez, who resigned in January. After being confronted on Friday by Big Bend Sentinel about withholding the name of someone who expressed an interest in the seat, the district on Tuesday released a letter of interest submitted by the candidate—state District Judge Genie Wright.
The board meeting was after the Sentinel’s press deadline, so it is uncertain if any action was taken on an appointment. (See bigbendsentinel.com on February 27 for updates.)
The district had previously acknowledged that it had received only one letter of interest for the appointment and that the letter would be opened in closed session when the board met on Wednesday night. The board could then take action on the appointment in open session. The board intended to discuss an appointment on February 16, but the meeting was canceled due to a lack of quorum. It is legal for a board to discuss appointments in closed session.
The district sought letters of interest for an appointment—and posted the qualifications needed for candidates—in a February 5 ad in Big Bend Sentinel, which also published a story on the district’s solicitation a day before the deadline for letters on February 12. As of the Sentinel press deadline for that edition on February 10, the district had not received any letters.
The Sentinel on Friday made a formal request for the potential board member’s name under the Public Information Act. The request also included names for any candidates running for the May 2 election. Since no information came back on that request, it is clear that what was previously stated right before the filing deadline—that no one applied to be on the ballot—is correct, and there are no candidates for the uniform election. The only board place up for a vote on May 2 is held by Lori Flores.
A call for a “special election” also was on Wednesday’s board agenda, which would allow for the district to fill Fuentez’s seat while holding that special election for her seat on May 2. That would also open up a new deadline for candidate filing. Under state law, if the district calls a special election less than 70 days before the uniform election date, then the candidate filing date is 40 days before the election on March 23.
Wright could not immediately be reached for comment on the Sentinel deadline, but she commented on her background when she also expressed interest in being appointed to a vacant seat in March 2024. (The board opted instead to appoint former board member Paul Hunt.)
She said at the time her qualifications included a bachelor’s and master’s degree in education, a law degree, teaching experience and Spanish fluency. Wright used to work as a sitting judge in Bexar County and now acts as a visiting judge. She is now a full-time Marfa resident.
“I think I have a skillset that I can offer them,” Wright said at the time. “I’m not here to tell everybody to change or tell them what to do. I’m here to work with them. I’m here to provide my expertise on certain matters.”
An attorney with the Freedom of Information Foundation Texas, who advises reporters on open records issues, said the letter of interest from Wright was public and that it doesn’t matter if it been opened or read; it only matters if an entity is in possession of this type of information, at which point they have to promptly make it public.
It is not Board President Philip Boyd’s responsibility to handle open records requests. That ultimately falls on Interim Superintendent Arturo Alferez, who acknowledged receipt of Sentinel’s official request for the letter of interest and any new information on election candidates, but he did not respond with any comments.
“Hopefully going forward, we have a process in place,” Boyd said. “I am obviously new to this position, not just as president, but as a trustee … Almost every meeting, there’s something that is new that comes up that I have not gone through before.”
“So, it’s a learning process,” he said. “But we’re committed to doing it the right way, and with whatever transparency we’re allowed by the law. I take that part seriously.”
