Sparks flew in McKinney ISD’s school board meeting on September 23 as parties sparred over what they saw as child safety issues.
Allegations of unsafe conditions for children are an increasingly frequent occurrence in one of North Texas’ largest school districts. The first to speak was Donald Danielson, the grandfather of Jacob Sollars. He condemned the board for its “accountability and empathy [which was] found absolutely nowhere.”
He added that “stories like my family’s are common [in McKinney ISD],” and he called the board’s actions “unacceptable.”
Danielson was referring to an earlier revelation, first reported by The Dallas Express, that his then-5th-grade grandson was beaten up by another student who shouted, “You stupid white boy.” Jacob suffered a concussion from the attack, and school officials did not tell Jacob’s parents. Efforts to resolve the issue between the various parties have failed and the boy’s mother, Kayla Sollars, alleges that the district has engaged in persistent retaliation efforts.
On September 5, the district denied requests for redress, and the family now has a pending complaint before the Texas Education Agency.
Mr. and Mrs. Sollars were both present in the audience on Tuesday, and various community commenters repeatedly referred to their story.
At the end of Danielson’s remarks, tensions soared among the board members. Trustee Chad Green tried to ask the grandfather a question, but Trustee Stephanie O’Dell interjected.
She repeatedly said, “You are violating the Texas Open Meetings Act!”
Trustee Phillip Hassler also broke in, “You can not do that.”
Green said it was allowed under “Robert’s Rules” and continued.
“Sir, we are going to be adding language into our policies,” he started to say.
O’Dell interrupted again, “Can we eject Mr. Green?”
Green’s question appeared to be about whether Danielson was worried, as a parent, about the district’s actions, but at times, his voice was drowned out by other interruptions.
The next speaker was Kyle Sims.
He reminded the board that in January, “Y’all mocked my statement” when he said that there was a problem with sex trafficking and brothels in McKinney. He said the board president at that time laughed at him and asked if “the bus stopped at any brothels?”
These are separate issues. The bus the president mentioned was a reference to an incident in February in which a McKinney ISD bus driver, for some unknown reason, drove several children off of the approved bus route that serviced McClure Elementary School. Eventually, the bus turned up in nearby Allen on U.S. 75 near Stacy Road.
Then, the driver returned to the regular route and delivered the children late to their bus stop. A lawsuit against the district alleges that the children were falsely imprisoned and suffered a variety of ailments from exposure to hot temperatures, which included “heat rashes, hives, vomiting, and excessive sweating, among other heat-related injuries. The children were additionally traumatized, fearing that they had been kidnapped,” the lawsuit says, according to the Dallas Morning News.
The brothels to which Sims referred have been estimated to number around 35 in McKinney, with 500 women advertising illicit sexual services in the area, as estimated by Shepherd’s Watch Foundation, an anti-sex trafficking watchdog group.
“If y’all are serious about protecting our children, why don’t you start with the children that are being abused, the stories we hear every day in public schools,” he said. He then pointed to some examples of abuse cases that have surfaced in the news that have occurred in other districts in recent weeks.
Sim’s head then tilted as he looked toward O’Dell.
“Go ahead and laugh,” he said.
“I like to smile,” O’Dell retorted.
“No, Stephanie,” Hassler said, attempting to reign in his colleague.
“You like to smile, but you don’t like to be accountable,” Sims responded. “Y’all ought to be ashamed of yourselves.”
He then urged the board to make parents aware of what was going on in the city. When he left the commenter’s podium, many in the audience applauded.
Later, the public comment period turned to Title IX. Previously, a motion introduced by Green opposing President Joe Biden’s updated Title IX guidance that would permit transgender athletes to use girls’ locker rooms and other accommodations was allowed to die without being considered for a vote.
“Our girls are under attack,” Samuel Hall said.
He urged Trustee Lynn Sperry to join Green as the other “voice of reason” on the board.
Michael Conway called out the alleged selective application of rules in the board to silence Green and allow people like O’Dell and Hassler to talk. Christie White hammered the Title IX issue, bullying issues, and the bus incident. Shannon Harris of Citizens Defending Freedom denounced a lack of transparency and an attempt to “muzzle community members on library materials.”
Fewer than a handful of other commenters spoke on unrelated issues, including Spanish language education and their opposition to school choice.
