A Bexar County resident seeking to temporarily replace Northside Independent School District Trustee Karla Duran after she was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated last year has failed, meaning she’ll stay on the panel while a legal effort to permanently remove her plays out.
The original charges resulting from the DWI arrest were dismissed in February, the same month Robert Gonzalez filed the petition seeking her removal, following the requirements in state law and NISD district policy. Even though the charges were dropped, a trustee could still be removed depending on the outcome of that trial.
Duran, who was elected to the board in May 2023, declined to comment on the hearing, saying via text that she is “focused on the responsibilities of my role and ensuring our schools are ready for the year ahead.”
District Court Judge Rosie Alvarado dismissed the temporary removal motion Thursday after a short hearing, but left the door open for Gonzalez to refile.
Francisco “Quico” Canseco, who is representing Gonzales, called several witnesses during the hearing, including Gonzalez, who said from the stand that he spoke before the NISD board five times after Duran was arrested and was frustrated by its lack of action.
Board members consulted with attorneys and determined they did not have the power to remove Duran, according to reporting by KSAT from November of last year.
Gonzalez said Duran was setting a poor example for students, including many learning to drive for the first time. He also said trustees represent their community, and “one would expect that they would hold themselves to a higher ethical standard.”
Gonzalez confirmed during questioning that he does not have any children in the district.
Attorney Martin Golando, who represented Duran on Thursday, argued that the case shouldn’t move forward at all, citing case law that only county attorneys or district attorneys can bring actions that remove elected officials.
Canseco pointed to more recent changes to state law that allow any resident of a county where an offense occurs to file a petition to remove an officer, as long as they aren’t under indictment and have lived there for at least six months.
Canseco also called a San Antonio Police Custodian of Records to confirm and read from documentation filed during Duran’s arrest.
Under state law and district policy, intoxication is one of the reasons a resident can petition for the removal of a county officer, including a school board trustee.
Canseco said he was hoping to have the trial over in a matter of months.
Vera Billingsley, a conservative candidate who unsuccessfully ran against Duran in May, was called to the stand as a possible replacement if the motion was successful.
Michael Knuffke, the president and co-founder of the conservative nonprofit San Antonio Family Alliance, said after the hearing that there are “two different justice systems,” for different political ideologies, pointing to actions taken against conservatives when charged with DWIs, including Mark Whyte, who was censured and Clayton Perry, who faced a vote of no confidence.
“It is just a different standard,” he said.
