The grievance process was initiated on May 5th, 2022, and a follow-up text message to the board specifically requesting that the Level 3 grievance be held in open record took place on May 22nd, 2022. For a standard Level III school board grievance (such as under Texas public school policy DGBA/FNG LOCAL frameworks), the school board must hold the official hearing within 60 days of the Level II decision, and must issue a written final decision within 30 days after the hearing concludes. Due to the nature of the grievance, it went directly to Level 3, and thus the board had until July 5th to most likely hear the grievance. If you went by the text message to the school board member, it would be heard before July 22nd. This would allow resolution before the new school year began. Instead, the district opted to ignore the 60-day rule and have a hearing on August 11th after the new school year had begun. By doing this, it forced the employee to seek employment elsewhere. Laws and policies are in place to protect students and staff and encourage the common good. This works out well in most school districts, but it seems some go out of their way to blur the lines, hide wrongdoing, and avoid embarrassment. Every community deserves transparency, but not all of them get it. More to come.
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