UVALDE, Texas – The Uvalde CISD school board met for three hours behind closed doors Monday night to listen to parent and public grievances against Superintendent Dr. Hal Harrell before deciding not to take action against him.
Instead, Javier Flores made a motion that was unanimously passed by the rest of the board.
“First, we will coordinate with the superintendent in the current systematic review of the UCISD Police Department that is currently being conducted by James McLaughlin,” Flores said. “Second, direct the superintendent to bring before the board of trustees names or organizations to provide a review of UCISD administrative practices regarding accountability. Third, direct the superintendent to schedule a board town hall meeting to discuss any continuing concerns and any issues related to starting the 2022-2023 school year and we want this meeting prior to the start of school.”
Meeting is starting now. They began with 21 seconds of silence. pic.twitter.com/InvTnB85fk
Four people were called to meet behind closed doors with the board.
One of them, Adam Martinez, was the first person to address the board. He told KSAT 12 News that he presented his grievance regarding safety and security issues that “made the massacre more convenient for the killer.”
“It’s (that) they’re not in touch with the citizens,” Martinez said. “You see, the citizens stayed here for hours and they can’t even give him the common courtesy. We don’t even understand the language that they’re speaking. I mean it wasn’t clear who actually knows what’s going to happen right now.”
Harrell had a chance to respond to the grievances and board members were allowed to ask questions. Martinez said only one board member asked a question.
The entire interaction between the people who made the grievances and the board, Harrell, and the board’s legal representation was recorded.
None one of the family members of the victims killed in the Robb Elementary School shooting spoke, but many came to see what transpired at the meeting.
The board quickly left after their announcement.
The lack of action angered the families who were present, many of them shouting and alluding to Wednesday’s termination hearing for Pete Arredondo.
The grievance hearing started with public comment, there were five speakers who were only given one minute total to speak.
Jesse Rizo, Jackie Cazares’ uncle, spoke first. He encouraged the board to have the hearings in a public setting so the community can be a part of it, and so there can be complete transparency.
Diana Karau was the second speaker, she took the time to remind the board that whatever happens is not personal.
“This is not a personal vendetta or attack against Dr. Harrell. We need to, you need to specifically be able to separate personal and professional. You sit in those seats with a responsibility to act based on the professional performance of an employee of the school district,” Karau said. “You cannot allow the process to be clouded by the fact that Dr. Harrell is a kind man, a nice man, people have spoken very highly of him throughout these meetings.”