Donna ISD’s conservator sharply criticized the school board Monday over offering an individual a job last semester despite having an eyebrow-raising past she said the board was aware of.
Conservator Linda Romeros said the district hired a candidate in November who had previously resigned under “questionable circumstances,” adding that the individual had failed to correctly answer an application question about whether they had ever resigned in lieu of being fired.
The board rescinded its employment offer to that individual at their December meeting, and it’s unclear who the person is.
What is clear is that Romeros wasn’t happy about the board not telling the district’s superintendent — who’s only been with the district since October — about the candidate’s history.
“Five board members were present; one for sure knew, and it is reasonable to assume the others also knew the person’s grounds for resignation,” she said. “No board member had the courtesy to advise the superintendent on the person she was recommending for hire prior to the board meeting or during executive session.”
In fact, Romeros said, a job description for the post had been altered, seemingly in favor for the candidate the board later rescinded.
“It appears the change was made to fit this person’s background,” she said. “The superintendent is currently working with the human resources department to review all new applicant job descriptions to ensure that they are appropriate to each position.”
Superintendent Dominguez, Romeros said, is also revising hiring processes to ensure the district catches errors on the applicant’s form.
The district did not to do that with that candidate from November.
“This applicant failed to correctly answer the online application question of ‘Have you ever resigned from a position in lieu of termination?’” Romeros said.
Trustee Maricela Valdez, who was the board’s president last semester, was not at the board meeting Monday and said Tuesday that she wasn’t aware of the conservator’s criticism.
Despite the critique over the way the board handled that hire, the conservator’s report was largely positive. Romeros noted that since Dominguez came on board she has been working to beef up staffing in the district’s human resources department, and that improvements had been made in regard to personnel files.
In an email, a spokesperson said the district couldn’t go into detail on closed session topics, but added that the school district is examining its hiring protocols and implementing procedures to review applicants better.
