'Make meetings boring again'; 2 new Round Rock trustees seek to unify school district

Soon to join a contentious Round Rock school board, its two newest trustees said they are hoping to help change the atmosphere.

In the past year, the divided board has seen one group of trustees suing the other, censure motions proposed and shouting matches on the dais.

Alicia Markum said one of her goals when she joins the board is to "make meetings boring again."

Markum and Estevan Zarate will be sworn in next month following their election victories over incumbents on Nov. 8.

Zarate, a 47-year-old teacher and actor, defeated incumbent Kevin Johnson and two other candidates to claim the Place 1 seat, while Markum, 39 and a stay-at-home parent, took the Place 4 seat by defeating incumbent Cory Vessa and two others. Incumbents Amber Feller, Amy Weir and Tiffanie Harrison were reelected.

Tensions have been high for the past two years at school board meetings with trustees Mary Bone and Danielle Weston being at odds with the other five board members over issues ranging from mask mandates in schools to the hiring of Hafedh Azaiez as superintendent in June 2021.

Both Bone and Weston have filed lawsuits against the other board members over proposed censure resolutions and an alleged unauthorized investigation into district emails that Weston shared. The board filed a second censure resolution proposed after both trustees broke quorum by leaving a meeting to pass the budget on June 16. The resolution failed.

In all five races on Nov. 8, candidates from a conservative coalition called Round Rock One Family who support Bone and Weston sought to take control of the board, but each finished a distant second.

Neither Weston nor Bone responded to a request for comment on the future of the school board.

Markum said she will work to transform board meetings from chaotic to calm.

"Some of the other trustees say they want to make school board meetings boring again, and I think that's always our goal," Markum said.

Markum said she will help the board focus on students and staff, something she said has not happened in the past two years. By doing so, she said she will be able to help restore and heal the district. She also wants to see shorter meetings.

"There always needs discussion to make sure that as a body corporate we are coming to a good consensus," she said. "But we need to see our meetings shortened so that our community can participate more and so that we're making good decisions as trustees and we're not making them at 2 in the morning."

Markum said she wants to ensure the district focuses on its students to prepare them for success, as well as improving teacher pay, retention and recruiting.

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"I want to continue to build opportunities that are outside of this one-size-fits-all education system," she said. "I want to make sure that we are building in enough opportunities that we can reach all of our students, and giving them all the opportunities and resources they need to have post-graduation success."

Zarate said that when he joins the board, he will encourage the trustees to take a retreat together that focuses on teamwork to improve collaboration on and off the dais. He said the board needs to be able to work with the superintendent.

"I can't wait to get to work," he said. "The board has been kind of stagnant for a while. It's time to move on to make some moves, so I'm ready."

During the campaign, Zarate said he wanted to build and strengthen relationships with business and organizations within the district, and expand student access to therapists and social workers.

"I want to make sure that kids have access to the things they need in order to succeed," Zarate said. "We've got to do something to support teachers to the fullest extent that we can."

He said he wanted to ensure the success of every student in the district.

"It is clear that the Round Rock ISD community chose trustees that care about students and teachers over hatred and misinformation," Zarate said in an email to the Statesman after the election. "I hope that we can get our district focused on what's best for all of our students. I also want to make sure that those that voted another way know that I take my dedication to represent them very seriously."

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: 2 new RRISD trustees seek to unify district