A family has filed a grievance with Tioga ISD based on allegations that an English teacher in the district’s employ groomed their daughter.
Mary and Wiley Alexander, whose names have been altered to preserve anonymity, lodged a level three grievance against Tioga ISD on August 4.
According to the Texas Education Agency, the grievance process entails filing a formal written complaint first with the school or campus principal. If the outcome is not satisfactory, then the party can move to a Level Two grievance by filing a written complaint with the Superintendent. Next, the party can turn to the school board of trustees.
If a solution still hasn’t been found, an appeal to the commissioner of education — a position currently held by Mike Morath — can be made.
The Alexanders claim that the teacher, referred to as John Doe, formed an inappropriate relationship with their daughter when he began teaching her at Tioga High School in 2020.
“She became the Godmother of Baby Doe and babysat for the family often,” they said, according to the Texas Scorecard.
Yet they then allegedly discovered sexually suggestive exchanges between their daughter and Doe. This behavior was referred to as “grooming” by a county sheriff investigator looking into the matter after the Alexanders filed a CPS case against Doe.
As of September 1, grooming is a third-degree felony in Texas and punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a maximum $10,000 fine. SB 1527 defines grooming as a deliberate attempt to establish a connection with a child in order to subject them to sexual abuse or human trafficking.
Despite an attempt to “clear the air” in October 2021, the Alexanders claim that Doe and his family continued to be in regular contact with their daughter. In March 2022, they filed a second CPS case against Doe after allegedly finding photos and correspondence between their daughter and the Does that were signed “Love, Dad” and “Love, Mom.”
This time Doe told a county sheriff investigator that the Alexanders had neglected their daughter, an accusation the parents referred to as a lie and a “smokescreen.”
The Alexanders turned to Principal Keith Kirkland and Superintendent Josh Ballinger in their previous grievances, but Doe remains employed by the district.
Once the Alexanders’ daughter graduated this past summer, the situation came to a head.
“She ran away from home 38 hours after high school graduation, moved in with Doe and his wife,” they said. “They are living as a fantasy family. [Our daughter] cut off all communication with us, extended family and many friends.”
The family is calling for Tioga ISD to find Doe in violation of school board policies and the Educator Code of Ethics and fire him.
“He has interfered with our daughter’s education, brainwashed her, alienated her from us, and destroyed our family. He did the OPPOSITE of what a teacher should have done, and school administration does not care,” the Alexanders said.
Ballinger did not comment directly on the Alexanders’ claims nor mention the meeting scheduled to address their level-three grievance next week. However, he told the Texas Scorecard that “the District takes all allegations of educator misconduct seriously.”
There have been several allegations recently waged against educators, coaches, special resource officers, and more working with children in North Texas.
For instance, a junior high teacher from Parker County was arrested on October 5 over allegations that she had an inappropriate relationship with a student attending a different school, as previously reported in The Dallas Express. Channing Elizabeth Kula, 36, resigned from Brock ISD and has since been released on a $50,000 bond.