Tuesday update: The Round Rock school district's Board of Trustees has officially appointed Hafedh Azaiez as the new superintendent.
Trustees on Saturday confirmed Azaiez's appointment on a 5-1 vote, with Trustee Danielle Weston voting against and Trustee Mary Bone absent.
The board had previously approved Azaiez's appointment but the vote had to be repeated because of of a procedural error.
Original Story: Round Rock school district Superintendent Hafedh Azaiez was appointed to his position on Monday by a 5-2 vote from the Board of Trustees. But due to an "inadvertent procedural omission," the board will meet again to vote for a second time and approve his appointment.
The board appointed Azaiez through a resolution on Monday's meeting agenda, which was posted on the district's website and promoted on social media 72 hours prior to the meeting.
But Round Rock district spokeswoman Jenny LaCoste-Caputo said in a statement the agenda was not posted "for public view at the District's office until the day of the meeting."
The Texas Open Meetings Act requires that the agenda is physically posted. That provision has been temporarily suspended because of the pandemic, but the district had already returned to physically posting the agendas and felt that failing to do so this time was inconsistent, district officials said.
"To ensure consistency of practice and as a matter of procedure, the Board will convene Saturday, June 19, to vote again on the resolution," the statement said.
Azaiez’s hiring garnered attention from the community during the required 21-day period between being named sole finalist and being appointed.
Parents began showing up to board meetings and speaking out because they were not offered open forums to learn more about Azaiez or give their opinions on him as a candidate.
The next meeting will open the floor up to public comment once again. Details on how to sign up to comment can be found here.
