(Texas Scorecard) – For the second time in two weeks, Rockwall parents showed up at a school board meeting to protest how officials handled allegations that a pre-K student was sexually abused by his teacher and to demand better safety measures including more security camera coverage.
“We have given you time to address our concerns, yet you have failed to do so adequately,” said Rockwall mom Gloria Renteria during Monday night’s meeting with the Rockwall Independent School District board of trustees.
“This is not only a call to recover this [security camera] video, it is a call to correct systemic issues and how internal investigations are conducted within our district,” Renteria told trustees. “Many parents have not sent their children to school, as they are still awaiting your action on this matter.”
About a dozen community members spoke during the meeting’s public comments—including Corey and Tim Booth, parents of the child at the center of the sex abuse scandal.
Last fall, the Booths’ then 4-year-old son told his parents he had been sexually abused by his pre-K teacher at Springer Elementary.
After what the Booths say were inadequate investigations into the incident—including weeks of delay in obtaining a forensic exam and investigators failing to retain relevant school security camera footage that corroborated their son’s accusations—Rockwall ISD allowed the accused teacher back in the classroom.
The Booths went public with their story a few days before school started on August 12 to warn unsuspecting parents.
At a school board meeting last Wednesday, the Booths and other parents blasted Rockwall ISD’s “horrific” handling of the abuse allegations. They blamed the district’s failure to inform parents for causing mistrust among the community.
However, district administrators defended their actions, saying they followed proper procedures and that “thorough investigations” had cleared the teacher.
Corey Booth then responded to administrators’ claims and made a detailed request for missing information and answers.
On Monday night, she raised the same questions that school officials have so far left answered.
“How many CPS cases in Rockwall ISD are opened and closed in seven business days?” she asked, adding that the average for CPS cases is 45 days.
Does it happen because you’re really that corrupt because you really don’t care about children, or is it really that our policies and procedures are that jammed up that nobody knows what they’re doing?
The mother of three also asked if the district has “two sets of standards.”
She noted that the sexual abuse allegations at Amy Parks Elementary involving a student received a full investigation and parents were notified, while her child’s allegations involving Springer Elementary and a teacher with a lot of connections were quickly dismissed and no parents were notified.
Booth told trustees that makes them look “very complicit and very corrupt.”
“God—if you haven’t noticed—is shedding light on all sexual issues that we have in this country,” Corey Booth added.
Corey’s husband Tim also addressed the school board for a second time in two weeks, calling for more transparency and stronger policies to protect children from abuse at school.
“Everything that could have been done for our son was not done,” Tim Booth told trustees.
Monday night’s meeting began with Chief Student Services Officer Kelvin Stroy telling the board that based on parents’ requests on Wednesday, he recommended trustees add an option to extend video retention from the current 30-40 days to 120 days, “to be provided for in the 2024 bond.”
“I’m glad you heard us, but we can’t wait until next year,” Rockwall resident Courtney Siska told trustees. “We’ve got to change it, and change it now.”
Siska noted that surveillance cameras are routinely used in daycare facilities and even to watch pets.
“When are all of our questions from last week going to be answered?” she asked Board President Amy Hilton.
Another Rockwall mom told trustees she asked for video footage of an incident involving her special needs son last May and was told there wasn’t any. She said he hasn’t returned to Rockwall ISD due to the district’s failure to address safety concerns.
“You guys are showing our students that it’s okay to sweep things under the rug,” she said. “I’m asking for you guys to set an example for our students, to show them that doing the right thing is a good thing to do.”
Rachael Johnson, a Rockwall ISD elementary school teacher, told trustees she has “grown more and more concerned about the lack of accountability by our administration” and called for surveillance cameras in every classroom to protect students and teachers.
“We can and must do better,” said Johnson.
“I’d like to think we as a community would reach out to those who are hurting rather than saving face,” said Kendall Pearce, a 33-year Rockwall resident whose daughter graduated from Rockwall ISD in 2018.
Pearce revealed that she is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and told trustees she was led to speak publicly about her experiences due to the district’s handling of the Booths’ case.
Several speakers noted that sexual abuse of children is an “epidemic.” In just the past few years, dozens of Texas teachers have been charged with sex crimes involving students and other children.
Following public comments, a few trustees addressed parents and the community.
“You are being heard,” said Trustee Stan Britton, a former pastor, adding that some of the issues involved must be solved at the state level.
“We’re here to protect the students,” Trustee Grant Dubois, a former prosecutor, told meeting attendees.
“We have a lot of trust to earn back,” added Trustee Sherry Packer, a former school principal and a grandmother of a special needs student. “We have to discuss those changes in detail.”
Following a two-hour closed session Monday night, trustees unanimously approved placing a property tax increase and three bonds totaling $848 million on the November 5 ballot.
The board agreed to add $750,000 to the bond labeled Proposition B.
Rockwall ISD’s Senior Chief Financial Officer David Carter told trustees that was the estimated cost of increasing surveillance video storage to 120 days.
Carter said trustees could also vote at their next board meeting for a budget amendment to allow the district to begin upgrading video storage capacity immediately using existing funds, regardless of whether the bond passes.
Some parents said after the meeting that the district needs to find funding in their current budget for cameras and increased video storage.
“If that means administrators take a pay cut, so be it,” said one observer. “But until the district earns the community’s trust back, I encourage residents to vote against any school bonds.”
Questions can be directed to the Rockwall ISD board of trustees.