Houston School Board Member Faces Calls To Resign After 'Offensive' Remark About Black Teachers
HOUSTON (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — A Houston-area school board member is facing calls to resign after he linked more Black teachers to lower school district performance in response to a presentation on an audit of the district's equity and culture.
Scott Henry, a school board trustee with Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, made the comments Monday during the school board's work session.
"Cy-Fair has what? 13% black teachers?" Henry said. "Houston ISD is 36%. Their dropout rate is 4%. I don't want to be 4%. I don't want to be HISD. I want to be a shining example. I want to be the district standard."
By Wednesday, those calling for him to resign included Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, and Texas State Representative Jon Rosenthal.
Hidalgo said she was "appalled" by Henry's "insinuation that more Black teachers lead to more dropouts."
In a statement posted on Facebook, Henry claimed his words were being misrepresented by "an out-of-state political organization."
"Any suggestion that I said more Black teachers leads to worse student outcomes is a flat out lie and those spreading that lie should be ashamed of themselves. I am proud that our school district has placed an emphasis on hiring diverse teachers and the we exceed [sic] in doing so," his statement read.
"I am not a politician and don't care about politics. I just care about kids and their education."
Henry was elected to the Cy-Fair ISD school board last November as a self-described conservative.
(© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
