District denies reprisal in teacher firing
Fort Bend ISD says it can’t substantiate abuse allegations
Fort Bend ISD officials this week denied that a teacher was fired for alleging that a former elementary school principal had molested a student, saying they only recently learned of the allegation, which hasn’t been substantiated but remains under investigation.
The district’s board voted last month to fire the teacher despite protests from members of a labor group, the People’s Choice Association, that the teacher was being retaliated against.
The allegations first came to public attention when the labor group’s Cecilia Edwards raised them during an April 16 school board meeting and accused the superintendent of not investigating them. The allegations have stirred controversy in the district, which educates more than 73,000 students.
A letter was sent to parents at the school alerting them that the concerns raised by protestors had not been substantiated but that school officials would “continue to follow up on all concerns through the process and protocols set in place.”
“There is no factual basis to establish a claim of retaliation, which requires a person to have reported some illegal or inappropriate behavior,” the school district said in a recent statement, responding to emailed questions from the Houston Chronicle. “Absent an earlier report, a claim of retaliation is false. Fort Bend ISD did not receive any information about allegations of sexual molestation during the former administrator’s employment within the District.”
The district was reviewing the allegations against the principal, according to Kristin Tassin, the school board president.
“I am unable to comment regarding the personnel matter except to confirm that the employment action taken by the Board was unrelated to any allegation involving the former principal,” Tassin wrote in an email last week. “It is my understanding that the district has been unable to substantiate the allegations at this time, but the investigation is ongoing.”
No complaint record
Neither the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office nor the district attorney’s office had a record of an abuse complaint against the former principal, who could not be reached for comment and is not being identified by the Chronicle because no charges have been filed.
These aren’t the first allegations of misconduct raised against a superintendent during a school board meeting. Earlier this year, a local resident appeared at a Katy ISD board meeting to accuse the superintendent, Lance Hindt, of bullying him in middle school. His accusation sparked a media firestorm and caused discord within the community.
Prior to last week’s Fort Bend ISD board meeting, a small group of protestors carried signs and greeted parents as they dropped off and picked up students at one Fort Bend ISD school. The labor group’s Keith Thomas joined them and held up a sign that said, “Teachers should have the right to report possible sexual abuse of a student by the principal without retaliation.”
Edwards blamed Superintendent Charles Dupre for allowing the former principal, who resigned from the Fort Bend ISD last year, to be hired by another district, and contended other children were now at risk of being physically abused.
During a brief joint phone interview with the teacher and Edwards, the teacher said she had learned of the potential abuse some time during the 2016-2017 school year, but was unable to be more specific.
When the teacher was asked by a Chronicle reporter about a pending discrimination suit that she filed against her former employer, the Houston Independent School District, the call was disconnected. Subsequent efforts to reach Edwards were unsuccessful, and one of the teacher’s lawyers in the discrimination case said they had filed a motion to withdraw as counsel for the case.
Edwards said the teacher had reported the alleged abuse to the school district but nothing happened. She alleged that the superintendent did not investigate the allegations because he is friends with the former principal.
‘Freedom of speech’
Dupre wrote in an email that he did not know the principal before joining the school district and said he has not been in contact with the person since the educator’s resignation.
And the school district said no one reported any potential misconduct about the principal and said claims of retaliation were only brought up recently.
“It was this spring, during an unrelated meeting involving Human Resources and another district staff member that an allegation of retaliation was made, and a teacher inferred that there had been a previous report,” the district said in its statement. “Following that meeting, our Human Resources department investigated the matter and could not find a record of a previous report against the principal by anyone.”
In their statement, district officials noted that when someone suspects a child is being abused or neglected, by law, the person must report it to law enforcement or Child Protective Services within 48 hours.
“While staff dealing with the primary human resources matter did not bring this to the administration’s attention this spring, we are continuing to investigate the matter and will do everything we can to determine the truth and take all appropriate actions,” the school district said.
Edwards raised her allegations at a board meeting last month but her comments were cut short by the board. Thomas, one of the protestors last week, also was cut off during the public comment section when he made similar accusations against Dupre. Amid cries of “freedom of speech,” three police officers then removed Thomas from the room.
Another concerned speaker was told she could not address the board. Tassin said during the board meeting that she would talk with the three speakers in the aftermath of the meeting.
Trustees discussed the matter in closed session and then voted unanimously to fire the teacher in open session.