Emerich Formally Hired as Crockett ISD Superintendent

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

CROCKETT – John Emerich has been formally hired as the superintendent of the Crockett Independent School District following the approval of his contract during a Crockett ISD Board of Trustees meeting held on Monday, March 16.

As the meeting got underway, the first order of business was to consider and approve the superintendent’s contract between Emerich and Crockett ISD.

With no discussion, a motion was made by Board Vice-President Karen Norman and seconded by Board Member Mo Amjad to approve the contract. The motion passed unanimously.

Once the motion had been approved Superintendent Terry Myers requested Emerich to come take his seat at the board table.

The next item of business was to consider and possibly take action on naming Myers as the Superintendent Emeritus. A motion was put forth by Norman to table the agenda item for further discussion in executive session.

The motion was approved and the board retired behind closed doors at approximately 6:10 pm.

The board members returned to open session at approximately 7:05 pm. Once the trustees were seated, Board Member Ansel Bradshaw made a motion to approve Myers as the Superintendent Emeritus. The motion was seconded, but before it was voted on, Board Secretary Dr. John Garner requested a chance to explain what the agenda item entailed.

“I would like to clarify this would be made so Mr. Myers will be able to assist the leadership transition process through the end of his contract, which expires on June 30,” Garner said.

The motion to name Myers as the Superintendent Emeritus was approved.

The next area covered had to do with the COVID-19 virus. A resolution regarding delegation of authority during the COVID-19 emergency was brought forward for review.

“First of all, I want to tell you I appreciate the trust you’re placing in me. I realize this is something a little out of the ordinary but in the course of circumstances, it calls for that right now. Really what this does is allows for some decisions to be made in the event of an emergency with the situation we are going through right now. The main thing we are looking for, if we approve this, is the ability to continue to pay our employees as we have been paying them in the past,” Emerich said.

In part, the resolution states, “in furtherance of the public purposes so stated in this resolution, the Board of Trustees of the Crockett Independent School District makes the following delegations to the superintendent and designee(s) in order to efficiently and effectively prepare the school district in response to the declarations of emergencies by other local, state, and/or national and international officials:

The authority to act in place of the Board under Board Policy DEA (Local) and thus make all decisions regarding payment of employees during an emergency closure, to implement provisions of Board Policy DEA (Local) and to make determinations regarding the purpose and parameters of any such payments;
The authority to make decisions regarding the compensation of exempt employees during an emergency closure, including premium payments to certain employees, if applicable, and to implement those decisions;
The authority to alter the Crockett ISD 2019-2020 school calendar.
The authority to create guidelines and make determinations regarding absences, leave time, leave days and compensation of any employee who is quarantined or who tests positive for COVID-19.
The authority to seek any necessary waivers from the TEA without further action from the Board of Trustees regarding missed instructional days, low attendance or any other matters related to the emergency closures as part of this resolution;
The authority to declare a catastrophe and take all actions as appropriate in accordance with Texas Government Code Section 552.233 regarding temporary suspension of the Texas Public Information Act.
The ability to procure, negotiate and execute contracts for goods and services that are necessary to mitigate, prevent, restore and repair damage caused to Crockett ISD equipment, personal property and facilities to protect the safety of CISD students and staff;
In the event of other waivers or immediate action is needed, the superintendent is authorized to take other action and to submit/apply for other waivers in accordance with guidance and instruction from the national and state authorities and/or agencies.

The resolution was unanimously approved and following the approval, the meeting was adjourned.

Will Johnson may be reached via e-mail at [email protected].