Marble Falls ISD board president Rick Edwards resigns
JENNIFER FIERRO • STAFF WRITER
MARBLE FALLS — Rick Edwards, president of the Marble Falls Independent School District board of trustees, submitted his resignation to the full board during the regular March 21 meeting.
Edwards stepped down because of family reasons, MFISD Superintendent Chris Allen said.
“He recently lost his grandmother,” Allen said. “He just feels he needs to prioritize his family at this time.”
Kevin Naumann, who was the board vice president, is now the president. Karl Westerman will take the role of vice president. The board will reorganize in May when elected members are sworn in.
Edwards has been on the school board since May 2009 and was in the midst of his third, three-year term as the Place 5 trustee, which was to end in May 2018.
“We appreciate his service to the district and understand and support his decision and have full faith and confidence in the board,” Allen said. “Although Mr. Edwards will be greatly missed, we’ll continue to do great work for students and families.”
The board opted to appoint someone to fill Edwards’ vacancy. MFISD spokesman Bruce Peckover said each board member will nominate one or two individuals for the position. The board, as a whole, will then consider each person during an upcoming meeting and appoint someone to fill the remaining Place 5 term.
This is the third resignation of a board member in the past 12 months. Kelly Fox moved with her family out of the district, and Larry Berkman resigned to avoid a possible conflict of interest while the board was in the process of hiring his son, John Berkman, as the girls high school basketball coach.
Larry Berkman will rejoin the board in May. He filed for the Place 4 position in the May election, but drew no opponent. In fact, each of the three positions up for election (places 3, 4, and 7) only have one person running, so the district will not have to hold the May vote.
Lee Ann Johnson filed for Place 3, which she currently holds, and Kevin K. Virdell filed for Place 7, which he currently holds. The board appointed Virdell to Place 7 after Fox resigned.
jfierro@thepicayune.com