Parents speak out at Uvalde CISD meeting, call on superintendent to be fired immediately
UVALDE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - The school board in Uvalde held a meeting Monday night on the heels of more questionable decisions and admitted mistakes related to the May 24 massacre.
The superintendent has announced he plans to retire once a replacement is found but angry parents want him fired immediately.
"How dare you attack my family? My daughter was a better human being than all of us combined," a parent said at Monday's board meeting.
More than four months later, the grief and pain are still as raw as they were on the day 19 children and two teachers were shot and killed inside Robb Elementary School.
"Go home and hug your kids and be glad that you can because I'll be at the cemetery because that's the closest I can get to my baby," the parent continued.
Parents of children who died gave the Uvalde school board all the anger you would expect over the recent hiring, then firing, of a former state trooper to be a school security officer, after the media exposed that she was at the school on May 24 but like the others there, refused to enter the danger zone.
Other families expressed disbelief that Superintendent Hal Harrell wants to be allowed to retire and remain on the job until his replacement is hired.
"I need to ask this board tonight to accept it, not just consider it, make it a done deal it's long overdue," a meeting attendee said. "It needed to happen, it was inevitable... 19 children two teachers... someone has to take responsibility for those deaths."
Other speakers accused the school board of doing little to deal with ongoing security issues after the entire district police force was suspended last week.
They also wanted to know what's being done to address the trauma survivors, who they call the walking wounded, continue to struggle with.
"The children that survived have physical wounds," another meeting attendee said. "The children that know of their friends dying, the teachers, the parents. They have emotional and mental wounds and I have not seen a single move by this board to address the walking wounded."
Harrell didn't speak during the meeting. After public comments, the board moved into executive session to discuss the position.