MIDLAND COUNTY, Texas — A lawsuit against the Texas Education Agency continues on, but one Midland ISD board member is looking to get involved.
Brandon Hodges, a representative of District 5 on the MISD Board of Trustees, has recently filed a petition in intervention in the current case against the TEA.
According to Joe Baker, a partner of Scheef and Stone LLP representing Hodges in the petition, the current lawsuit against the TEA is holding up A-F accountability ratings that Hodges and other board members need in order to properly evaluate their schools.
“One of his jobs is to evaluate the performance of the superintendent, the school district as a whole, and of the schools. It makes that job impossible for him if he does not have the grades for the schools," Baker said. "The reason we've intervened in the case is to get the school grades, at least for Midland released so that Mr. Hodges and the rest of the board can do their job.”
The five schools, which include Pecos-Barstow-Toyah Independent School District and Fort Stockton ISD, brought the lawsuit against the TEA in regards to how STAAR tests were graded.
This led to Hodges filing a petition in intervention in the current case to try and clear up the roadblocks preventing him from doing his job.
“A petition in intervention is a party that wasn't a part of the original case. The original case was the five school districts and the commissioner of education," Baker said. "The petition and intervention is whenever another party has interest in the case and they want to become a party and bring claims that establish their rights, which is what we've done in this case under the Texas education law.”
According to Baker, not having those A-F accountability ratings is making things extremely difficult for Hodges and his fellow board members to do their jobs.
“Right now he doesn't have all of the information to put together all the puzzle pieces," Baker said. "Missing the A-F grades are a key component for him to evaluate all the data they've been provided.”