Interim Edna ISD Superintendent Bill Boyd held a Facebook live town hall meeting recently to answer submitted questions by the public, with topics ranging from superintendent applicants, nepotism, pressure on teachers to pass athletic students, counselors and junior high technology.
“I’m doing this for communication and transparency,” Boyd said in the meeting. “This is my chance to give everyone the real story.”
There have been six interviews for the superintendent search, with people coming in from all over the state.
Question: Who is responsible for looking into the background of applicants? Not criminal history, but general history?
Boyd said the Texas Association of School Boards are the ones who do the background checks, and once they get to the lone finalist stage, there’s a greater chance of learning about history.
The second question was an inquiry into the EHS debate students who qualified for the National Speech and Debate competition, and why they weren’t allowed to attend nationals, despite donations being made and the willingness to continue donating.
Boyd said he was two weeks into being interim when the issue came to his desk. “I’m referring to the cross-examination debate students, and they represented for us quite well,” he said. “UIL is the governing body for Texas, and UIL doesn’t have nationals in academics and athletics. So we do have nationally- ranked students, but there will be no nationals. Although I think the event would be great for our kids, it’s a great example of putting the cart before the horse.”
He continued on by saying if there’s an event where a student stays overnight and out of state, it needs board approval. “This is something that wasn’t budgeted, and it’s a bad precedent to set, and would open the door in the future for some bad financial times if we say yes and spend $2,000 per student.”
Question: The level of nepotism within the district has been become a significant concern and appears to be a pattern of prioritizing family members. How can we be assured that all qualified candidates are given equitable opportunities?
Boys said nepotism in public school has two thresholds: if there is less than 35,000 citizens in the county the nepotism laws are more lenient, if there is more, the nepotism laws become more stringent.
“Look it up on the Attorney General’s website for nepotism and schools,” he said.
Question: There have been multiple instances where a teacher has been pressured to pass a student based on their athletic abilities, rather than let them deal with the consequences of low grades. How can the district ensure students are held to high consistent standards at all times?
Boyd said in the 40 years he’s been in education, he’s never seen that to be the case. “I don’t think teachers would cave to it, especially in the secondary schools where eligibility is determined,” he said. “If it’s going on and I don’t know about it, come see me. That will not going to be tolerated.”
Another question was the lack of counselors in the district, with one being at the junior high and another at the high school. Boyd answered quickly by saying an elementary counselor will be hired at the next school board meeting for the 2026-27 school year.
Another question was about fundraising for teams at the high school level.
“According to the comptroller’s office, per organization they’re allowed two fundraisers, and asking for a donation is a fundraiser,” he said. “If groups are trying to go around it and continue to raise money, that would be the time to make a booster club for it.”
A question was mentioned about having more programs in technology at the junior high level, and Boyd said they provide for every growth and opportunity in any domain.
Lastly, he gave a little advice to the supporters and parents of students.
“We talk negatively too much about the school district, and when you do that we’re talking negatively about our kids and teachers,” Boyd said. “I’d like to see more honey than vinegar, and there’s a reason why people don’t do education anymore because it’s too easy to get on Facebook and say things.”
