Berryhill won't resign

ECISD trustee Renda Berryhill, said she plans to remain in office — even though her family has moved out of the Odessa High district she represents so her son, a high school senior, may attend Permian.

Both legal board policy and secretary of state guidelines indicate trustees must live in the districts they represent.

Ector County Independent School District board policy states “a person elected to serve as a board member must remain a resident of the district throughout the term of office. A board member who ceases to reside in the district vacates his or her office.”

Secretary of State spokeswoman Ashley Burton said a school board trustee is required to live in the district they represent.

Burton added that if a trustee moves outside of the district they are elected to represent, then it’s incumbent on the trustee to take the initiative to resign or submit an affidavit of their change in residence to the school board, Burton said.

If a trustee chooses to remain on the board after moving out of his or her district, the only process to follow, Burton said, would be for a resident to contact the district attorney and claim “quo warranto,” which is usually filed to have an elected official removed from office.

Ector County District Attorney Bobby Bland said he didn’t have any information on the issue and couldn’t comment further.

Berryhill represents ECISD District 2, which is entirely within OHS boundaries. Her current term expires in May.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS

Berryhill said she spent her first evening in her new leased east side property July 7 and notified some trustees, such as board president Carol Gregg.

The trustee said she’s changed her permanent residence to the leased property but declined to give the address. The property is located near the Oakwood and Tanglewood areas, Renda’s husband, Jamie Berryhill, said.

He said the family’s move didn’t raise a question of whether his wife should resign but instead, whether she’ll run again.

Jamie Berryhill also remarked that he and Renda might use both their properties — the leased home on the east side and their Mission Messiah shelter on West Second — to run for the school board for separate districts in the future.

Renda Berryhill said she wasn’t going to speak to that issue since she wasn’t present when her husband was interviewed and didn’t know what he had said.

Their leased home is in trustee L.V. “Butch” Foreman’s district, Jamie Berryhill said.

MISSION MESSIAH

Renda Berryhill said the family plans to keep their nonprofit shelter, Mission Messiah, which they’ve owned and lived in since the 1980s, as their business address on the west side.

Jamie Berryhill said the family owns multiple properties in the area, including another east side property that is leased out.

The address the Berryhills have listed with ECISD since Renda’s election is Mission Messiah, 1213 W. Second St.

The Ector County Appraisal District lists Mission Messiah as owned by Quarda B Enterprises. It’s the only property owned by that corporation. The Berryhills are not listed as the owners of any other property in Ector County.

Renda Berryhill said she and her husband would work at Mission Messiah when needed, especially if they need to spend the night for staff duties, but one of them will be at the east side residence when the other’s working.

PLAYING AT PERMIAN

Renda Berryhill said her son, Jamison, has had a longtime interest in Permian and attending the school.

“He’s talked about graduating from Permian like his parents, his whole life,” she said. “It’s time. It’s here. There’s no reason for him not to.”

Renda Berryhill said she didn’t know whether the family would remain in the leased home after their son graduates in May. But, she noted the couple also has two young children who may have a later interest in attending Permian.

The Berryhills’ teenager previously attended Midland Christian School and plans to play football at Permian. He participated with Permian last week in the 7-on-7 competition.

WHAT WILL UIL SAY?

Along with the questions raised about Renda Berryhill’s status as a trustee are questions about how UIL will view the eligibility of her son.

Peter Contreras, a UIL athletic coordinator, said if the family intends to move back into the property in OHS’ district after their son graduates in May, it raises some concerns.

“That’s gonna be up to the District Executive Committee to determine,” Contreras said.

The District Executive Committee — made up of superintendents from area schools — reviews new student athletes entering from other schools. Contreras said it may raise questions about why the family has held on to their previous residence and why the family may move back to their old residence after their son graduates.

Contreras said the Berryhill’s son would fill out a previous athletic participation form prior to joining the team since the high school senior comes from another school — Midland Christian — then the executive committee would make the final call on whether he’s eligible to play.

According to the UIL Constitution and Contest Rules, Section 442, a student and the student’s parents must remove “their furniture and effects” from their previous address.

The rules further state: “The new residence should accommodate the entire family. The former house should be on the market at a reasonable market price, or sold, or the lease or rental agreement terminated. All utilities and telephone service should be disconnected or no longer in the family’s name. All licensed drivers in the household should have complied with DPS regulations for changing their address.”

“They’ll have the first and last say on it,” Contreras said of UIL.

THE BOARD

Board president Carol Gregg said she wouldn’t deal with sorting out circumstances of a trustee moving their permanent residence outside of their representative district.

“I have no authority to take any action on it one way or the other,” she said, noting board policy and the law would handle the situation.

Gregg, who’s served on the board for nine years, said she couldn’t recall any time when a trustee moved outside of their representative district and still planned to serve on the board.

She said former trustee Bill Rutherford, resigned in November 2005 when he and his wife moved to San Antonio, but prior to that his wife moved and he continued working and living in Odessa.

As far as whether Renda Berryhill should resign from her position, Gregg said it’s up to her fellow trustee.

“It’s her individual decision how she proceeds,” Gregg said.

COACH ALLMAN

Permian head football coach Darren Allman said he would make sure Jamison Berryhill, like all other new students, fills out all the appropriate paperwork and is eligible.

"As far as I'm concerned we would cover all of our bases," Allman said and added he didn't think they would have any snags in the process as far as eligibility.

He said new students are handled all the time and it wouldn't be any different than if the student came from Dallas or any other area. "It either gets approved or not approved."