MISD board member files “intervention motion” in TEA case

MIDLAND COUNTY, Texas – A lawsuit against the Texas Education Agency continues, but a Midland ISD board member wants to get involved.

Brandon Hodges, a 5th District representative on the MISD Board of Trustees, recently filed a petition to intervene in the ongoing case against the TEA.

According to Joe Baker, a partner at Scheef and Stone LLP who represents Hodges in the petition, the current lawsuit against the TEA obstructs the A-F accountability ratings that Hodges and other board members need to properly evaluate their schools.

“One of his jobs is to evaluate the performance of the principal, the entire school district and the schools. That job is impossible for him to do if he doesn't have the schools' grades,” Baker said. “The reason we intervened in the case is because we want to get the school grades, at least for Midland, out there so that Mr. Hodges and the rest of the board can do their jobs.”

The five schools, including the Pecos-Barstow-Toyah Independent School District and Fort Stockton ISD, had filed a lawsuit against the TEA relating to the scoring of the STAAR tests.

This led to Hodges making an application for intervention in the present case in an attempt to remove the obstacles preventing him from carrying out his work.

“A motion to intervene is a party that was not part of the original case. The original case involved the five school districts and the education commissioner,” Baker said. “A motion and intervention is available any time another party has an interest in the case and wants to become a party and assert claims that establish their rights. That's what we did in this case under the Texas Education Code.”

According to Baker, the lack of these AF accountability ratings will make it extremely difficult for Hodges and his fellow board members to do their jobs.

“At this point, he doesn't have all the information to put all the pieces of the puzzle together,” Baker said. “The missing A-F grades are a key factor for him in evaluating all the data that has been made available to him.”