Celina Independent School District trustees decided they will select who fills a vacant board seat rather than let local voters choose a new representative.
During a meeting on Monday night, board members accepted the resignation of longtime trustee Chuck Hansen.
The vacancy comes as the district is dealing with a spate of scandals and two other board seats are on the ballot.
Celina ISD’s board policy lets trustees fill a vacancy by appointing a successor to serve until the next regular election, or by ordering a special election to fill a vacant seat for the remainder of the term.
Either way, policy dictates that the vacancy must be filled within 180 days, as more than one year remains in Hansen’s term.
Board President Jeff Gravley noted Monday that the policy’s “holdover doctrine” means Hansen will continue to serve until his successor is sworn in.
As a result of the board’s decision later that night, Hansen will hold over for less than a month.
After the board discussed its options in a closed session, trustees Michael Wagoner and Jennifer Driver proposed holding a special election this November, but their motion failed 5-2.
Trustees Tracey Balsamo and Jarratt Calvert then proposed that the board appoint Hansen’s replacement. That motion passed 5-2, with Wagoner and Driver voting no.
The new trustee will be selected next month and sworn in at the next regular board meeting on May 18, along with the winners of the May 2 school board election.
Gravley said applications for appointment to the Place 1 seat will be accepted until May 8, allowing time for losing school board candidates to apply.
Whoever the trustees appoint to replace Hansen will have to run for re-election in the next regular election in May 2027. If the board had allowed voters to elect a replacement in November, that trustee would have served the remainder of Hansen’s term through May 2028.
Calvert defended his decision to appoint a new trustee by stating that an election happens either way.
Hansen was first appointed to the board in 2008. He was most recently re-elected in May 2025.
He didn’t say Monday what prompted him to step down now, other than that the Lord had given him a “clear sign” that “it was time.”
I made a deal when I got on this board 15 years ago that I would serve the Lord to the best of my ability, and then when it was time for me to go He would give me a clear sign it was time for me to go. A couple of months ago that sign began to materialize, and through prayer He’s done it.
Had Hansen decided to resign prior to February 13, his vacated seat could have been included in this year’s May trustee election.
Two Celina ISD school board seats are on the May 2 ballot.
Place 3, currently held by Gravley, is being sought by Cameron Riggs and Vicky Hogue. Gravley had filed to run for re-election, then withdrew his candidacy amid fallout from a sex-abuse scandal.
Place 4 candidates are incumbent Jennifer Driver, David Hogue (Vicky’s husband), and Erin Norris.
Early voting in the May 2 election is underway now through April 28. Voting information can be found on the Collin County Elections website.
Trustees also made a point Monday night to “affirm” that Superintendent Tom Maglisceau—whose contract the board just renewed with guaranteed 10-percent annual salary raises for three years—has authority to hire a new principal for Moore Middle School.
Celina ISD remains under a special investigation by the Texas Education Agency and is a defendant in seven civil lawsuits brought by families of Moore Middle School boys targeted by then-coach Caleb Elliott’s illicit locker room recordings.
Elliott’s father, famed football coach Bill Elliott, is also a defendant in two of the suits. He retired in the wake of the scandal and revelations of “systemic failures” within the athletic department under his leadership, but was given a settlement agreement in which Celina ISD promised not to disclose “negative” information about Elliott.
