Alice voters have been asking about the possibility of recalling school board members after Erika Charles Reeves, the wife of current Alice Independent School District (AISD) School Board Trustee Cody Reeves, was arrested for allegedly several financial-related crimes.
As originally reported by The Alice Reporter, Trustee Cody Reeves has not been charged with any crimes related to the alleged theft of PTA funds, however, there are accusations that his Cash App account may have been used to facilitate funds collected through fraudulent means.
This potential association and the broader questions being asked regarding his judgement have led voters to seek out other remedies to force his removal from the school board.
According to Texas Local Government Code §21.101, a member of the governing body of a qualifying municipality “may be removed from office through a recall election initiated by petition.” However, this does not apply to public school board members because they are not municipal officials.
So, are there other remedies for removal? The short answer is, maybe. Under Texas Local Government Code §87.012, members of an independent school district’s board of trustees are subject to the removal provisions of Chapter 87. Section 87.013 provides that an officer may be removed for incompetency, official misconduct or intoxication. Unlike a recall election, this process is not resolved through a ballot initiative, instead, a district court must be petitioned by another party, such as a voter or group of voters.
In summary there is a possibility that voters could remove Cody Reeves from office, but it will ultimately rely on voters taking the initiative and how the facts of the case are presented.
