Round Rock school district welcomes 2 new trustees
Two new trustees joined the Round Rock school board on Tuesday, saying they hoped to unify a divided board and set a new tone for district meetings.
Alicia Markum and Estevan Zarate, along with incumbents Amber Landrum, Amy Weir and Tiffanie Harrison, were sworn in following their election victories 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.
Landrum, Weir and Harrison were reelected to the Place 3, 5 and 6 seats, respectively, on Nov. 8.
In all five races, candidates from a conservative coalition called Round Rock One Family who supported the only two trustees who were not up for reelection, Mary Bone and Danielle Weston. The coalition candidates all finished a distant second in their races.
For the past two years, the school board has been deeply divided, with Weston and Bone at opposite positions with the other trustees over issues such as mask mandates in schools and the hiring of Hafedh Azaiez as superintendent in June 2021. Along the way, trustees voted on censure measures and sued each other.
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On the dais for the first time on Tuesday, Zarate said he is looking forward to working with the board.
"We're going to do a lot of great things," he said. "I think this community is full of love and I want to exemplify that love. I want all of us to make decision with that love in mind."
Zarate has said he will encourage the trustees to take a retreat together that focuses on teamwork to improve collaboration on and off the dais.
"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 meeting, the trustees also elected its officers. Landrum and Harrison were reelected as the board's president and vice president on 5-2 votes, with Weston and Bone voting against.
Weir was reelected as the board's secretary on a 5-2 vote, with Weston and Bone again voting against. Before the vote, Bone nominated Weston for the position, saying she was a senior member on the board. Weston said she accepted the nomination and encouraged the other trustees to vote for her.
"This is an opportunity for the board to put action behind their words of being unified and inclusive of all ideas and people and members offer community," she said.
After the reelected trustees were sworn in, they shared their thoughts on being back on the board.
"I do this because I love this school district and I care so much about public education," said Landrum, who was known as Amber Feller before recently being married. "I ask that you hold us accountable. Give us grace when we make mistakes and encourage us when we do the right thing."
Markum has said she will work to transform board meetings from chaotic to calm.
"I am looking forward to working with all of my colleagues and moving this district forward and refocusing on our students," Markum said after taking her seat on the dais. "I look forward to serving all of you."
"This is a great district," Weir said. "I'm so blessed to be able to continue to serve here as I have for almost two decades."
"As we move forward, as I move forward into the next four years of a full term, I want to keep students in the forefront," Harrison said. "I'm really excited for what the future holds, and I am excited for our beloved community."
More:'Make meetings boring again'; 2 new Round Rock trustees seek to unify school district
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Round Rock welcomes 2 new trustees to school district
