School Board may have violated nepotism law in hiring of board president’s daughter

Monday meeting could result ousting board president from her lead position

MARFA — Marfa ISD School Board members may have violated state nepotism laws with the August 18 hiring of Rebecca Ontiveros who was charged on August 21 with an improper relationship with a student and then resigned last Wednesday. Ontiveros is the daughter of School Board President Teresa Nuñez. Under Texas law, a school official — such as a board member — in most cases cannot hire anyone who is a school official’s child — also with prohibitions for spouses, siblings and other relatives. That prohibition extends to fellow board members.

However, some unusual twists in what happened during the hiring may invalidate any improper actions by the board, which believed it was following the law.

An affidavit from the Texas Ranger investigating the case states that Ontiveros — who was set to be a pre-K teacher for the school year — admitted to a sexual relationship with a male high school student in June and July. See story on page 1 for more details on the case. 

This article is based on numerous conversations with sources who did not want to be named for a variety of reasons ranging from fear of retaliation to privacy concerns because they have kids in Marfa schools. Those sources suggest School Board members did not understand that any hiring of Ontiveros would be improper. 

Members thought it was allowable as long as Nuñez recused herself from voting. She reportedly abstained on the vote to hire her daughter, though official minutes from the August 18 meeting in question are not available yet because they have not been approved by the board.

Texas law states that small counties — with populations under 35,000 — have certain exceptions to nepotism prohibitions. One key exception is if the superintendent has ultimate hiring authority for contract employees like teachers. Under local district policy, Interim Superintendent Arturo Alferez does not have that authority; he can hire at-will employees, and he recommends contract positions, but the board ultimately votes on contract hires like Ontiveros. Therefore, the exception does not apply to Marfa ISD.

The entire School Board may be on the hook for the illegal hiring, even though Nuñez didn’t directly offer a vote confirming the hiring. Nevertheless, she is still a public official, leading the board that hired her daughter. The penalty for violating the nepotism laws is a misdemeanor with a penalty of $100-$1,000 and possible removal from the board.

Interim Superintendent Arturo Alferez issued a statement Tuesday expressing confidence that the board is in the clear. “Through my research and after consulting legal counsel, I can confidently assure you that no nepotism laws have been violated,” he wrote in an email. “Historically, the Board has delegated the authority to hire contractual personnel during the summer months to the superintendent. However, during my tenure as interim superintendent, I was never granted such authority for summer hiring.”

Alferez also stressed that he follows a set process for hiring decisions. “In order to ensure fairness and transparency, I implemented a structured hiring process that relies on committee recommendations,” he wrote. “These hiring committees consist of teachers, staff and administrators. Every personnel decision made during my time as interim superintendent has followed this process and has been based on the committee’s recommendations.”

The twist

According to sources, Ontiveros did not sign the contract offered to her and instead resigned the next week. Attorneys for the School Board reportedly were looking into whether that means she was hired or not, meaning whether the actual vote by the board doesn’t represent misconduct by board members. Calls and emails to two law firms specializing in school board law and the Region 18 Educational Service Center also were not returned by The Sentinel press time. 

Also at question is whether the violation of nepotism laws really matters. For example, should School Board members be responsible for an action that has no consequence, since Ontiveros resigned?

A Monday showdown

When the School Board met last Thursday, sources said members anticipated that there would be an option for them to reorganize the board — removing Nuñez as president if she wouldn’t resign from the board. That option, for unknown reasons, was not put on the agenda, or it wasn’t made clear that it would be voted on. (The agenda included a closed session item of “Roles and Responsibilities of School Board Members.”) Members fully expected an option to come back into a public session for a vote to remove Nuñez as president. Instead, Nuñez quickly called for adjournment and members left without a vote.

Now, the members intend to fix that agenda gray area and specifically hold a public vote on her removal on Monday. The agenda posted Tuesday includes a closed session and open section item for reorganizing the board. Some board members have expressed a desire to simply resign if Nuñez does not — because they feel the relationship with her has become so toxic that they couldn’t work with her in the future in any role she plays.

Sources say the board also will discuss in open session — after advice from attorneys — on whether they violated nepotism law, or whether the unsigned contract nullified anything improper.

Sources have also raised the question of whether the same violation of nepotism law occurred when the district hired Nuñez’s sister, still a teacher at the district, seven years ago. Minutes from 2018 and 2019 show the board, including Nuñez, voting unanimously to approve the sister’s contract.

Sources said the key concern on board members’ minds is leadership — with declining enrollment, consistent financial problems related to that enrollment, and the fact that the district already went through a mini scandal with the prosecution of a substitute teacher for production of child sex abuse material in 2023. Members of the community have also brought up Ernie Villarreal, Nuñez’s brother, whom the board appointed to a vacant seat in 2021. Villarreal’s experience as a finance director in neighboring Valentine ISD made him seem like a good fit. However, he resigned from his professional post at Valentine ISD in February 2022 after $165,000 in unauthorized transactions were discovered and was the subject of a federal investigation into the missing funds.

Villarreal then missed a string of board meetings, and The Sentinel reported in February of 2024 that since June 2023, Villarreal had not attended any board meetings in person, and had only participated remotely via Zoom or by phone for three out of 13 regular and special meetings, according to meeting minutes. 

No one took any action on the missed meetings while he was under suspicion by federal authorities, but Villareal finally resigned from the board in February of 2024 and was indicted for wire fraud and theft. He pleaded guilty and received a 27-month prison sentence in March.

Nuñez and other board members declined to comment for this story. Board Member Jay Foster could not be reached for comment. Ontiveros also could not be reached for comment.