During a Nov. 17 meeting, The Lingleville School Board accepted the resignation of board member Justin Wilson and swore in his replacement as well as returning members who were uncontested in the Nov. 8 elections.
Wilson’s resignation drew comments from the public relating to the hiring of his wife, Lauren Wilson, as an aide assisting with the athletics program.
One speaker questioned how the decision could have been made, saying that it violates Texas Association of School Boards’ policy on nepotism since Erath County’s population is over the threshold that would allow the hiring. She questioned the quality of the legal team who initially reported that the hiring was okay when she found out it wasn’t through Google searches before alerting the school to the issue.
Another speaker also expressed regret that Justin Wilson resigned, saying “I feel like we lost a voice over something that should’ve never happened.”
LISD Superintendent DeeCee McDougal reported that Lauren Wilson was offered the job on Nov. 7 and officially signed paperwork on Nov. 8 after McDougal sought guidance if the hiring of an at-will employee related to a school board member was okay. Both the school’s legal advisors and other superintendents responded it was fine.
Questions arose and the school’s legal team said on Nov. 11 that the hiring was actually against TASB guidelines. McDougal said that Wilson was removed from the aide position within an hour of the school being informed.
McDougal said that the Wilsons were informed that she couldn’t serve in the position while Justin was on the board. The choice was left to them on what they wanted to do. The family took time to discuss and Justin decided to resign afterwards.
“There is a rumor that we, as a board, switched Justin out,” said LISD Board President Brent Hallmark in the Nov. 17 meeting. “A choice had to be made; it was simply his choice. Do we like it? No.”
“What got us here was misinformation from our attorney,” he added. “The perception is terrible— I won’t deny it. I apologize.” He encouraged anyone with question to reach out to him or the other board members and said they will answer them if they are legally allowed to do so.
Followingthestatementand a previous executive session, the board unanimously voted to approve former board member Scotty Whitefield to the seat vacated by Wilson. Whitefield was called and a recess was called while they awaited him to arrive and be sworn in among the other board members (Tyler Howle, Jay Proctor and Monty Williams). All four were sworn in after the break.
It was reported in the meeting that Lauren would be unable to serve in that position until a new board member was sworn into Justin Wilson’s seat.
It was announced that Lingleville got a B in the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) report, getting a ‘yes’ in all areas except one. The school could’ve received an A except that the school’s auditor accidentally left one requested piece of information out. (The score would have increased to 98 if it were included.)
It was also reported that the education service center conducted its intruder detection audit of Lingleville in the week before the meeting and LISD passed, with the auditor finding no way of entering the building.
It was also reported that the annual Halloween carnival set another record, collecting more than $61,000 this year.