Dallas Independent School District school board trustee Carla Ranger returned from the superintendent's weekend "retreat" to post the rules concerning how the board fills a trustee's seat (i.e., special election or appointment) should he or she leave before a term is up. Among the procedures: "If less than nine (9) months remain on the term of a departing Trustee, the Board shall appoint a 'suitable person.'" To which Ranger responds:
Of course, Ranger's item this morning most likely applies to Ron Price, the District 9 trustee who's trying to take Carolyn Davis's seat at the Dallas City Hall horseshoe. His term would have expired in May of this year, till the board decided to extend its term limits to include a bonus year.One might ask. What is a "suitable person?" That would probably be simply politics and not in the public interest.
Update: I asked DISD spokesman Jon Dahlander about Price and whether this applies to him -- and when the board last had to fill a vacant seat. He wrote back:
The elections are held on the second Saturday in May, so there would be a year left -- although [Price] obviously would not be sworn on to the council immediately.
The last time a trustee left before his term was up, I believe, was when Joe May passed away. I also seem to think that Hollis Brashear left his term early and it was around the same time. In both cases, a special election was held.
