Lane Ledbetter, the Superintendent for Carroll ISD, posted a video online to address the community in Southlake. In the video, Ledbetter asked for staff to be allowed to continue their job throughout the district’s strategic planning meeting.
According to Community Impact, he apologized for having put too much focus on the division in Southlake, instead of students and staff.
“That’s not my responsibility,” Ledbetter said in the video. “That’s not my job. My job is to take care of kids. My job is to take care of our staff and to ensure that we’re providing a world-class education in a safe environment for our kids and our staff. And I apologize that I’ve been distracted.”
He added that division in the district was the responsibility of those in the community.
Ledbetter said, “At this point, our priority moving forward is on students—on their education, on student opportunities, on our incredible staff. I’m excited about the future of Carroll ISD because of what we can accomplish over the next three to five years as a result of this strategic plan.”
According to Community Impact, the district’s strategic plan is made of five phases. It will address district goals and community needs over the next three to five years. Ledbetter added that district leaders will also be looking for new opportunities to make a difference, both inside and outside the classrooms.
In Ledbetter’s video post, he said the best way to accomplish the district’s plan is for the staff and community to move ahead.
“Enough is enough. We have to move forward. We’re not going to go back and talk about what happened last semester, what happened last year, what happened two years ago. I can’t do anything about that. I can’t change that,” Ledbetter said.
CISD is also facing alleged violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act. Ledbetter mentioned in his video that his assistant recently put 46 hours in to address open record requests.
According to Ledbetter, the volume of requests has added to the shift away from students and staff.
“I can assure you that if we continue to operate the way we have, if we continue to have to focus and react on the things that are happening day to day because of all the things that are coming at us … because we’re blasting people on social media—I’m not going to stay,” he said. “The team that I’ve surrounded us with, that I’ve brought to this district, as well as our many principals—we’ve had enough.”
CISD has also increased pay to address their teacher shortage, along with other school systems in North Texas, according to Community Impact. Ledbetter’s video also addressed the tension that teachers in the district have felt lately.
“We have to trust our teachers to do the job as our teachers right now … are scared,” Ledbetter said. “They don’t know if they are trusted,” he said. “If you’re working in an environment where any decision you make, anything you do could be put out there publicly—that’s a challenge.”