Parents Say Collin Co. Teacher Being Punished For Student's Sins
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COLLIN COUNTY(CBSDFW.COM) - Parents are demanding change at McClendon Middle School in Community ISD. At a meeting Thursday night, they pressed school leaders to put a suspended teacher back in the classroom and kick a student out of school for making threats.
New cameras were not allowed inside the meeting and parent Jimmy Dyess says the meeting with the superintendent wasn't worth having.
"I think it was a lot of rhetoric and lies," says Dyess.
Dyess's daughter Natalie says the student threatened her two weeks before her teacher Judy Stough sent text messages on Tuesday that the boy was "screaming and beating on my window wanting in."
"He got mad he got in the closet got a hammer he starts threatening me," says student Natalie Dyess.
Natalie's teacher was suspended for escalating or overreacting to the students alleged threats to kill outside her door.
Superintendent Jeff Chambers would not discuss with CBS11 the incident but wanted to reassure parents that the threat has been addressed.
"More than just the parents in that room deserve you know what happened? if there was a crime committed? if there was a violent threat against school or teacher?" CBS11 asked Chambers.
He responded, "We investigated the threat. All the students were safe."
That's not good enough for Dyess and other parents who question why their children were never interviewed.
They say they're willing to violate truancy laws for the remainder of the school year until they get straight answers.
"If I was knocking on somebody's door screaming 'I'm going to kill you' I would go to jail. This kid needs to get the same punishment," says Jimmy Dyess.
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