AISD inches forward in creating District 7 candidate criteria

In a 7-1 decision, Austin Independent School District board members decided to use a list of approved questions in District 7’s candidate appointment process instead of a more formalized rubric. AISD District 1 trustee Edmund Gordon was opposed. Two candidates stepped forward to fill AISD’s recently opened District 7 seat by Tuesday’s deadline: Jonathan Sump, a 53-year-old accountant, and Yasmin Wagner, a 45-year-old communication manager who also narrowly lost last November’s election for the position. The District 7 seat’s vacancy arose after Robert Schneider – the longest-serving trustee at the time – passed away in July. Board members decided to submit a maximum of three questions each for discussion at their Sept. 14 meeting. There, they will decide which questions to ask the applicants in the public interview process set for the week of Sept. 21.