El Paso ISD unanimously votes to take applications to fill 2 board seats

UPDATE (6:15 p.m.) -- EPISD's board unanimously voted to accept applications from community members to fill vacancies.

Board members Jack Loveridge, Alex Cuellar and General Counsel Cezy Collins proposed announcing applications online and through a media release Wednesday.

From July 2-27 they would accept applications and review them. T

hen during the week of Aug. 3, the district will host a special meeting to interview candidates.

The interview process will be open to the public and the board will interview candidates separately.

Trustee Cuellar made the motion to approve the process, Trustee Sutton seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. Superintendent Brian Lusk attended the vote virtually.

According to the Texas elections code, Texas education code and common law, the candidate has to fill these requirements:

• Must be 18 years or older
• A U.S. citizen
• A qualified voter
• Resident of the district (6 or 7) for six months before applying
• Must not be a district employee
• Must be of "sound mind" (not being adjudged totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated)

The candidates who meet the requirements will move forward to the evaluation process, where their qualifications will be reviewed.

Finalists will be a part of the forum and participate in a question-and-answer interview portion during the week of Aug. 3-7.

The board said the process will run through the first week of school. Since quorum is vital, the board said the dates for the process had to be set now to ensure all board members could attend.

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Wednesday, the El Paso Independent School District Board of Trustees will discuss the next steps to fill two vacancies on its board.

Former board members Daniel Call and Valerie Beals announced their resignations shortly after the district voted to declare financial exigency, which is similar to bankruptcy for educational institutions.

During the June 4 vote, Call was the only member to vote against the declaration. Beals was absent.

EPISD held the vote when it dealt with a multi-million dollar deficit. The district's board later voted to cut 54 teacher positions by June 15 to bring its deficit down to $4 million.

The district has two options to Call and Beals' spots:

• Call for a special election, which could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
• Appoint two community members to serve their unexpired terms.

This is a developing story.