Mendez’s contract

A majority of the Ector County Independent School District trustees said they plan to wait until Friday's meeting to develop an idea of the contract terms for ECISD interim superintendent Hector Mendez.

Trustees plan to consider Friday approving Mendez as full-time superintendent and the terms of an employment contract.

Trustees voted 4-3 April 8 to approve Mendez as the sole finalist for the superintendent position.

Mendez was named interim superintendent in July.

Board vice president L.V. "Butch" Foreman said he wasn't sure to what extent the terms of a contract would be discussed.

Foreman said he hadn't been able to give much thought to what he'd like to see as far as any contract terms for Mendez.

"I think the first step is to get him approved and then go from there," Foreman said.

The Odessa Chamber of Commerce announced a proclamation Tuesday asking for the ECISD trustees to unanimously support Mendez's - and his leadership team's - plan for the district.

Foreman, who originally placed the item on the board agenda in April to name Mendez as the superintendent finalist, said he's glad the business community supports Mendez.

"It just makes me feel good that we're on the same page," Foreman said. "That I'm not out there on an island standing out there trying to get him by myself."

Trustee Randy Rives questioned the chamber's support in Mendez and a certain direction for the district.

"What does the Chamber of Commerce know about what we need for this district?" Rives asked.

 Rives said he'd likely vote against a contract for Mendez because he wanted trustees to search for a superintendent so that it could be determined fully whether Mendez was the best candidate.

"We didn't give him a chance to prove that, and we didn't prove it to ourselves," Rives said.

Rives, who isn't seeking re-election to the ECISD board of trustees, served as board president when trustees voted 4-2-1 to approve former ECISD superintendent Wendell Sollis as the sole finalist for the top administrative position in August 2004.

Meanwhile, trustee Fay Batch said she's never been through a process of determining the terms of a superintendent contract, and she hopes to learn from other trustees when they plan to meet in executive session to discuss the contract during the meeting.

"The people who have been through this before I'm pretty sure are going to be straight up about it," Batch said.

Trustee Doyle Woodall said he does has an idea of what he'd like to see as far as contract terms.

He'd like to see a one-year contract for Mendez with some incentives attached to it, meaning the superintendent would be required to meet some timelines and goals during the contract year.

Woodall said he'd like the superintendent to receive a bonus depending on the number of recognized campuses in the district and the superintendent's leadership team would also potentially qualify for bonuses.

"Hector can't do this by himself," Woodall said. "He needs a cabinet that's giving a 100 percent effort, and they should also be rewarded if the results are there."

Woodall said if the trustees make a motion for a three-year contract, he would vote against it. School districts like Andrews and San Angelo give superintendents three-year contracts.

Trustee Donna Smith said she didn't have an idea of what kind of terms she'd like for Mendez's contract, but said she hopes the district could gain some stability if Mendez is approved.

"What we need more than anything else is a quiet time to heal and repair ourselves - just to get some business done," Smith said.

Efforts to reach trustee Ray Beaty and board president Carol Gregg were not successful Wednesday.

WHAT ELSE?

>> During the meeting, trustees also plan to consider approving a Dell computer contract totaling about $339,000 to cover licensing on all district computers, a recommendation for Burleson Elementary to apply to the state for a Governor's Education Grant award and out-of-state travel for an Odessa High gymnast.

>> Trustees plan to meet at noon Friday in the boardroom of the ECISD Administration Building, 802 N. Sam Houston Ave.