Vote split 4-2, with newly-appointed trustee voting with majority

On Tuesday, Marfa ISD School Board met to discuss a stacked agenda, including consideration of an appointee for the Place 1 seat vacated by Stela Fuentez and voting publicly to hire a consultant firm to search for an appropriate candidate to replace Interim Superintendent Arturo Alferez following a tense four-hour closed session in which raised voices and shouting could be heard on the other side of the door for much of those four hours.

New board member appointed

Before the marathon closed session, though, the board went into a brief closed session shortly after opening the meeting to deliberate the appointment of Jonathan Lockett to fill Stela Fuentez’s Place 1 seat. Lockett was sworn in immediately following unanimous approval and joined other board members present––Board President Philip Boyd, Ruben Martinez, Jay Foster, Rene Gonzales, and Teresa Nunez––for the remaining 4.5 hours of the meeting. 

“I basically made it clear that I don’t have any experience on a board, but I do care about the community, and I care about the school, and I would like to help improve those in a meaningful way,” Lockett said about the letter of interest he sent to the board a couple weeks ago. 

Lockett currently works at Big Bend Coffee Roasters and might be familiar to the community as a Marfa Public Radio music program DJ. His child will attend Marfa Elementary next fall. 

The past three years

Alferez’s tenure has been marked by controversy since his appointment to the role in spring of 2023. A coach and history teacher, he had no prior administrative or superintendent experience or certifications when tapped to replace outgoing Superintendent Oscar Aguero. 

Less than a week after he stepped into the role, the school community was rocked by the arrest of Sonya Murillo, a substitute at the district, for the possession of child sex abuse materials. Murillo later pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

The district was met with a flurry of accusations regarding both the handling of the Murillo case and their choice in interim superintendent. When the school board made it clear in summer of 2023 they would not be seeking another person to fill the role, and instead continue under the leadership of Alferez as he pursued his certification, there was some public frustration. Nearly three years later, Alferez still only holds valid certifications in social studies and driver’s education.

Lower test scores, enrollment

Over the next three years, with school enrollment and test scores in steady decline, the controversy around Alferez remained, though the district did enter early childhood partnership agreements with several schools in the El Paso area, nearly doubling the district’s enrollment and average daily attendance (ADA) money. 

The start of this recent school year saw the district partner with a cross-district partnership between Marfa ISD, Alpine ISD and Marathon ISD to provide rural students with access to high-quality, college and career-aligned pathways. The program is called BB-RISE. 

August 2025 marked a downturn––Marfa ISD earned their third consecutive “D” rating from TEA, losing their District of Innovation status and thrusting the district into a rigid “School Improvement Plan.” 

Then came another blow for the district––pre-K teacher Rebecca Ontiveros was arrested at school on a second-degree felony charge of an improper relationship between an educator and student. Ontiveros is the daughter of then Board President Teresa Nunez. Public rebuke was swift, and parents and community members called for Nunez to leave the board. After a series of tense meetings, Nunez did step down from her role as president, with Philip Boyd tapped to lead the board. Nunez remains a board member. 

Within weeks of Ontiveros’ arrest, another teacher, Juan Martinez, 54, was apprehended by authorities and jailed on two charges: indecency with a child and improper relationship between educator and student, both second-degree felonies.

With two educators arrested in the first few weeks of the 2025 school year, Alferez and the school district held an open forum in which parents and community members could ask the interim superintendent hard questions––and they did. Alferez opened the meeting defending his job as superintendent despite not having adequate qualifications, and said that the district’s high percentage (around 30%) of uncertified teachers, a concern brought up by many parents, was due to Marfa ISD being a TEA-designated District of Innovation, although TEA had revoked that status a month prior. 

Since last fall, the temperature has cooled a bit, but continuing withdrawals have been a concern for the district. In January, Elementary School Principal Rosie Martinez disclosed that Marfa ISD had lost a total of 18 students since August, most choosing to commute to other area public schools or homeschool. In March, Martinez said that three of those students had returned to the district. 

A rigid “School Improvement Plan” enforced by TEA, among other things, led the board in February to return to a five-day calendar for the 2026-2027 school year after three years of a four-day school week, and a potential new preschool for three-year-olds on the horizon, Marfa ISD has renewed hope for positive changes to come. At Sunday’s “Armed and Generous” arm wrestling competition and fundraiser for the Marfa Education Foundation, Rosie Martinez led a chant of “Pre-K3!” from the audience, asking for positive energy and “good vibes” from those attending. 

With rumors swirling around that Marfa Education Foundation forced the board’s hand in pursuing the superintendent search, MEF President Beth Kerzee denied the allegations. “We are here to support the kids and teachers,” Kerzee said. 

The search is on

Just after 11 p.m., the board once again opened the door to the public and took a series of votes: the first to hire superintendent search consultant Walsh Gallegos, the second to approve timeline for the search and authorization of Walsh Gallegos to post the position, and the third to give Boyd permission to proceed with discussion regarding superintendent transition issues. All motions passed 4-2 with Gonzales leading and Foster seconding. Martinez and Nunez opposed all. 

When asked about the timing of the superintendent search, Boyd said, “It just felt like we need to start having these conversations because it takes time for these things to unfold, and we need to make the best decisions with the information that we can gather for next year.” 

Alferez’s current administrative contract with a superintendent supplemental stipend is not up until June.