On May 16, 2014 a district court in Austin issued a temporary restraining order against Commissioner of Education Michael Williams preventing him from replacing the District’s elected trustees with a managing board and attempting to replace the District’s superintendent.
In April of this year, Commissioner Williams notified the District of his intention to replace the District’s elected board of trustees with a board of managers selected by him and that he intended to replace the District’s superintendent, Dr. Timothy B. Chargois. The District filed suit against Commissioner Williams challenging his actions and requested that the court issue a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction. Today the court granted the temporary restraining order after hearing arguments from lawyers for both Commissioner Williams and the District.
“We are grateful that the court took the time to listen to our concerns and believe that its decision is a victory for the District and the voters in our community. We were able to show that the Commissioner, in his rushed attempt to oust duly elected officials, failed to comply with state law and his own procedures. The Commissioner’s actions to date have been tremendously unfair. It appears to us that he has misused the powers of his office to wrestle away control of the District from its elected board for the benefit of a political minority that has been unsuccessful in gaining control of the District through normal democratic processes,” said BISD Board President Gwen Ambres.
The temporary restraining order prohibiting Commissioner Williams from imposing a board of managers and a new superintendent lasts for two weeks, after which time the court will decide whether to further enjoin Commissioner Williams at a future hearing.