The President of the Tyler ISD Board of Trustees, Rev. Fritz Hager, Jr., stated in a press release that he has placed a discussion item on the Monday, July 23 agenda to gain input and from other board members and community members to discuss what process, if any, should be followed to address a potential name change of a school.
Hager says the item is for discussion only and that no decisions have been made and no action will be taken.
Hager also mentions that most of the input has been focused on whether there should be a change but not how to make a change or what the name should be.
My hope is that the public comment and input will shift to these areas,” said Hager. “Which would help make our public comment time more productive.”
FULL STATEMENT:
Public statement
Released by: Rev. Fritz Hager, Jr., President, Tyler ISD Board of Trustees
9:30 pm, July 19, 2018
I placed a discussion item on the agenda to gain input from my fellow board members, as well as the community, on what process, if any, we should follow to address a potential name change of a school. This item is for discussion only - no decisions have been made and no action will be taken. Texas law requires school board deliberation be done in full view of the public, with few exceptions, so the only way I can poll board members on how they would like to proceed is during a public meeting. After consultation with board and community leaders, there are at least four options the board could choose from that I have asked them to discuss – take no action, conduct a community based process like the strategic plan, form a sub-committee of the board to make a recommendation to the full board, or rely on the board itself with community input. Additionally, I’ve asked for their input on the timing of any action. The board has patiently listened to hours of public comment, read hundreds of emails and letters, individually met with people and groups on both sides of the issue, and entertained countless individual conversations. However, most of the input has focused on whether we should make a change but not how to make a change or what we should change to. My hope is that the public comment and input will shift to these areas which would help make our public comment time more productive.