top of page
Search

Irion County ISD Board May 6 2026

  • 5 days ago
  • 7 min read

Updated: 4 days ago


Election results: Tony Martinez 104; Taylor Douglas 142; Jayton Lindley 158; Anthony Baumann 95. The top 3 vote getters win the election.


These IC ISD tennis courts were completed in 2015. The new transportation facility will be complete this year. The cleared lots just beyond the transportation facility are also owned by the District and are deed restricted to residential housing. Compare this photo with the one below.
These IC ISD tennis courts were completed in 2015. The new transportation facility will be complete this year. The cleared lots just beyond the transportation facility are also owned by the District and are deed restricted to residential housing. Compare this photo with the one below.



A. Agenda Analysis

  1. This will be the first post-Moore meeting, as her last day for the District was April 30. This agenda reads very much like one of her agendas, however. Mr. Underwood would not have become Interim at the time last week when it had to be posted.

  2. Election results, item 5: Results of the election will be certified at this item. I will try to post election results on Saturday May, 2, but no guarantee. Those results aren't official until approved by the vote by the Board on this item.

  3. Swearing in, item 6: It's not official for the board member elects until they swear allegiance to the Constitution. The wording of the oath, authorized by the Texas Constitution, is worth considering:

    "I, [Name], do solemnly swear (or affirm), that I will faithfully execute the duties of the office of Trustee of [Name of District] of the State of Texas, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States and of this State, so help me God."


  4. Re-organization of the Board of Trustee Officers, item 7: Board member/Secretary Ashley Hill chose not run for re-election, so there's an opening for an officer position.

  5. Administrative Reports, item 8: Matt Underwood is the Interim Supt. I don't know Mr. Underwood, so this unchartered territory. My understanding is that interims have the same authority as the permanent, something that is is good and bad.

  6. Budget amendments, “as presented”, item 9: I’ve said this part before, so nothing new here. My view has been that "as presented" in this item is too general under the Open Meetings Act provisions related to posting requirements. The problem will not be apparent until later when the minutes are posted. They will likely say something like, "The Board approved the budget amendment" without identifying anything about what the amendment was about. (For example, an agenda item might read, "Budget amendment for transportation facility equipment". And, the minutes might read, "The Board approved a budget amendment related to transportation facility equipment.") As written, if the minutes are equally not specific, the only way for the public to follow the money is to attend the meeting or do a Public Information Act request after the meeting. And, yes, I pay special attention to budget amendments during superintendent transitions like this one.

  7. Approve construction/bond purchasing, item 10: This is the placeholder for 2024 bond spending.

  8. Closed session on personnel and action on closed session, items 13 and 15: Every transition of executive management brings with it some degree of re-organization. There's some hand wringing going on in the background, you can be sure of that.


The yellow area points to a small wood frame house that was located on the lots that are now the transportation facility. Now those lots are all impervious cover, and the rain water being repelled is being redirected down the alley. Note also under the arrow are the lots now cleared of Juniper that are currently being temporarily used for construction material holding. The photo also shows the area (at about the "Copyright") now being used for the entrance to the flood water detention area. Immediately above the tennis courts is the refurbished portable now being used as an Administration building. And, immediately above that shows a now cleared area of Junipers that is being used by the District for sea container storage.  The tennis courts prior to 2015 were an undeveloped field used as a practice field, and before that those lots were undeveloped and covered with Juniper. There's no planning being done by the District or City on land use and environmental impact. This blog is in part a response to that lack of planning. Sometimes it takes a photo like this one to see how the District is dramatically altering the environment.
The yellow area points to a small wood frame house that was located on the lots that are now the transportation facility. Now those lots are all impervious cover, and the rain water being repelled is being redirected down the alley. Note also under the arrow are the lots now cleared of Juniper that are currently being temporarily used for construction material holding. The photo also shows the area (at about the "Copyright") now being used for the entrance to the flood water detention area. Immediately above the tennis courts is the refurbished portable now being used as an Administration building. And, immediately above that shows a now cleared area of Junipers that is being used by the District for sea container storage.  The tennis courts prior to 2015 were an undeveloped field used as a practice field, and before that those lots were undeveloped and covered with Juniper. There's no planning being done by the District or City on land use and environmental impact. This blog is in part a response to that lack of planning. Sometimes it takes a photo like this one to see how the District is dramatically altering the environment.

B. Meeting Review

  1. Canvassing of election results and swearing in, items 5 and 6: There were no changes in the vote totals (see top of this page), and the Board approved the totals. Members Martinez and Douglas, and new member Jayton Lindley, were sworn in. Mr. Lindley's grandfather, Jay Lindley, served on the same school board back in the mid '70's, for all the history buffs out there.

  2. Re-org of officers, item 7: The Board elected Maegin Carlile as President, Chad Koonce as Vice President and DJ Rainey as Secretary.

  3. Admin reports, item 8: This was Interim Supt. Matt Underwood's first of probably only two meetings, and his part was efficient and to the point. You can find his report on page 2 of the meeting documents. See my Commentary below about one significant issue, flood control, that he will be dealing with during his short tenure. Principal Parker and Coach Morrow were absent.

  4. Budget amendment, as presented, item 9: An alternative take on my lesson above about "as presented" being too vague: the perfect time to use "as presented" is when, at the time of posting the agenda, the staff doesn't yet know whether an amendment is necessary and this language is a "placeholder". That turned out to be the case here; Ms. Lakey announced she put it here because she wanted it available if need be. In fact, there wasn't a need for an an amendment. Why all the bother on my part? While I have every reason to believe Dr. Moore left the budget in fine shape, her immediate predecessor left the District in a bind the very day he moved out. So, it is a very good sign for the District, Dr. Moore and Matt Underwood that history is not repeating itself during this transition. (Dr. Heath (who was present at the meeting but not participating) is also likely breathing a sigh of relief.) Ms. Lakey explained that there would likely be some amendments before the end of the fiscal year, but such is always the case. At least we know now there is no financial exigency during this transition.

  5. Bond purchasing, item 10: Folks from Gallagher were present, and the Board engaged in a productive discussion about the pending re-roofing and AC replacement bid. A modified bid was approved, but all I really heard was the end of another Covid era mistake - the Board approved replacing the AC units on the new City Gym with units that are more efficient to maintain. See my Commentary about the Anthony Mechanicals contract back at the July 14, 2025 Board meeting. The decision to replace these units even though they are under five years old is a good one.

  6. Closed session and action on closed session, items 13 and 15: President Carlile confirmed with me after the meeting that there was no vote on a closed session matter.




One sign of the design failure of the flood control project at 4th and W. Fleming is that now storm water is pooling on the west side of the street and invading this resident’s yard. Another sign, not shown here, is that there is now more storm water coming down W. Fleming from the new transportation facility.
One sign of the design failure of the flood control project at 4th and W. Fleming is that now storm water is pooling on the west side of the street and invading this resident’s yard. Another sign, not shown here, is that there is now more storm water coming down W. Fleming from the new transportation facility.

C. Commentary

  1. Flood control projects: Here's the upshot - neither of the two projects are complete. The flume and pavement at the project at 4th and W. Fleming has been designed poorly, and there's new stormwater to deal with coming down the alley and W. Fleming. The City should not re-open W. Fleming until these corrections are made. In addition, the project at Fayette and 2nd has yet to even start. See this page for my analysis of this project. Mr. Underwood advised at this meeting he is meeting next week with the City to renew the MOU. Here's the bottom line: If the District, the City and affected landowners don't stay after this, Parkhill and Gallagher will shave expenses on the flood control projects without regard to the additional stormwater that is being redirected into the basins. Why this matters: For my new readers, this all matters because (as I've been saying since 2019) storm water from the two basins on each side of IC ISD travels down to City Park where the District, the City and Irion County all share an interest in the facilities. With each school bond the flooding at City Park has worsened, city streets have become more impassable and private property, including homes, have experienced more flooding. Stormwater control is a community wide problem.

  2. 765 kV updates: Make sure and read the Resolution passed by the City at my Meeting Review of the City Council meeting this week. One reason IC ISD needs to review this effort is that increased battery storage, AI data facilities or 765 kV transmission lines will bring more development, which means more families and more students at IC ISD. If you are invested in keeping the District at its current size, then you need to learn more about this resolution.

  3. Contrast the oath a Board Trustee takes with one a lawyer takes in order to become licensed as a attorney by the State Bar. A newly minted lawyer who passes the Bar Exam gives this oath:

    "I, [Name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitutions of the United States and of this State; that I will honestly demean myself in the practice of law; that I will discharge my duties to my clients to the best of my ability; and that I will conduct myself with integrity and civility in dealing and communicating with the court and all parties. So help me God." See Gov’t Code 82.037.

    The phrase “honestly demean” means to have an honest demeanor.

    In addition, you might have heard that attorneys are “officers of the court”. That language is not in the oath, but it is found in the Preamble to the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct: "A lawyer is a representative of clients, an officer of the legal system and a public citizen having special responsibility for the quality of justice." So, technically, we are more than officers of the court…we are officers of the legal system.







Copyright 2026 G. Noelke

Drop Me a Line, Let Me Know What You Think

Thanks for submitting!

© 2025 by George Noelke

bottom of page