HISD continues its stealthy ways in seeking a replacement for outgoing Superintendent Abe Saavedra.
The Houston school board, trying to protect the candidates’ identities, will interview the job seekers behind closed doors at its headhunting firm’s downtown office.
The board is scheduled to call the meeting to order at 9 a.m. [today] in a conference room at Heidrick & Struggles, located on the 68th floor of the Chase Tower.
The public part of the meeting is expected to last a few minutes before trustees go into closed session to question the job candidates.
I still think this is ridiculous. What are they going to do, bring the candidates in with bags over their heads? What’s their plan in the event one or more names do get leaked? Just be open about it and you don’t have to worry about these things.
The Texas Open Meetings Act appears to allow the school board to meet anywhere that is “accessible to the public,” said Matthew Festa, an assistant professor at South Texas College of Law.
“I would say reasonably any place in Houston is accessible. Nothing says it has to be in the official chambers,” Festa said.
Seems to me to be a glaring weakness in the law as written. I hope someone remembers this in 2011.
Csorba said the public can attend the brief open session before the interviews, though he’s not expecting a crowd.
It would be awfully funny if he were to be proven wrong about that. Which leads to another question: What happens if someone shows up with a camera and an Internet connection? Would they throw him out? Would that be allowed under the Open Meetings Act given that this is taking place on private property? This very likely won’t happen, but if it does, we’ll all see the lawsuit coming a mile away.
“he’s not expecting a crowd. ”
Flash mob, anyone?