MARFA — Marfa ISD School Board trustees appointed Paul Hunt to an open seat on the board this week. Hunt will be filling in for the seat left vacant in February by previous trustee Ernie Vilarreal. He will serve a one-year term until May 2025 when the seat is up for election.
An article published last week in The Big Bend Sentinel incorrectly stated that the sole applicant for the open school board position was Genie Wright. The superintendent’s secretary told The Sentinel via email that the district had received “a letter” and did not respond to follow-up questions about the identity of the applicant.
Wright reached out to The Sentinel, identifying herself as an applicant.
Wright said the district told her her letter of interest to join the school board, which was sealed, was placed into a mail cubby and accidentally never opened. The school board requested letters be mailed in advertisements posted in the paper.
Paul Hunt said he submitted an unsealed letter of interest in person to the district’s office.
Interim Superintendent Arturo Alferez told The Sentinel that the board received both letters before the deadline. He said because the March 25 board meeting was moved to April 1 “the board was not able to open any letters that had been submitted,” which caused the confusion.
Both Wright and Hunt attended Monday’s school board meeting to express their interest in the open school board position.
Frank “Buddy” Knight, previous Presidio County commissioner who also served a stint on the school board, spoke during the public comment period to encourage trustees to consider Wright’s candidacy, stating she would make a good school board member given her background. Wright has experience in the field of education.
In the end, the school board opted to bring on Hunt, a former Presidio County judge who previously served on the school board from around 2004 to 2010. Hunt is also one of the founders of the Marfa Education Foundation. He told The Sentinel he is willing to jump back on the board to help out during a pivotal time for public education in the state.
“I think it is a critical time for public education in Texas in particular,” Hunt said. “I think our state seems determined to destroy public education, which I don’t understand, but I’d like to help out with that problem.”