Superintendent suspended amid inquiry into school play casting move
Sherman school district Superintendent Tyson Bennett has been suspended with pay, a decision that comes amid a third-party investigation into how a transgender student was removed from his role in a high school’s production of “Oklahoma!”
Sherman trustees voted to suspend Bennett, effective immediately, after spending more than three hours in closed session Friday.
The school board did not disclose the status of the outside probe or share any of its findings. Trustees have held several private meetings related to what happened with the musical.
After a closed meeting with legal counsel, the board appointed Deputy Superintendent Thomas O’Neal as acting superintendent, effective immediately, according to the North Texas district’s website.
Bennett walked out after the vote and did not stop to speak with reporters. School board members declined to comment.
The casting decision turned Sherman into a national symbol in the battle for LGBTQ+ rights.
The community rallied to get high school senior Max Hightower his role in the show back and demanded accountability for the superintendent.
Bennett was initially barred from supervising the fine arts program as a third party investigated. While the investigation unfolded, the production went on — with Max taking the stage in his leading role.
His parents, Phillip and Amy Hightower, now are regular fixtures at Sherman school board meetings. On Friday, Phillip Hightower shook with emotion after he heard the decision.
“I believe in people a lot more today than I did yesterday,” he said.
Phillip Hightower said he was thrilled with the board’s decision and grateful to the community that stood up for his child.
Sherman, a conservative community about 60 miles north of Dallas, has seen other controversies tied to the school district’s treatment of LGBTQ+ students.
Trustee Anna Wylie previously protested outside a Pride Prom celebration, and the superintendent was accused of intervening in an earlier school musical because of queer characters. Wylie has declined to comment on her involvement. What happened to Max struck a particular chord.
In November, the Sherman High School principal informed theater students’ parents of new rules that meant Max — along with several girls cast to play male ensemble and supporting roles — would lose their parts.
Documents obtained by The Dallas Morning News through a public records request show that a district official emailed a script for explaining the decision to parents.
“Roles will be assigned based on gender where males are cast as males and females are cast as females,” part of the script read. “This will be the way casting will be done moving forward — males will be cast as males; females will be cast as females. I wanted you to know.”
The move devastated students, who treasured the theater as a safe space to be themselves.
And it forced Max to come out not just within his school, but to the world.
“Max is going to be a little less afraid when he goes back to school after spring break,” Phillip Hightower said after the vote. “He’s going to be a little bit safer.”