Community members pack special Millsap ISD board meeting following arrest of superintendent, teachers in connection to alleged student abuse
It was a packed house Friday morning at a special Millsap ISD board meeting as dozens of parents hoped for the removal of the superintendent.
Two Millsap Elementary School teachers as well as the school district's superintendent have been arrested, according to the Parker County Sheriff's Office.
The arrests come after a video surfaced online and went viral, showing the teachers allegedly hitting a 10-year-old autistic boy in February. The accusations led to an investigation by the Texas Education Agency and the Parker County Sheriff's Office.
Dozens of angry parents, family members and friends took to the podium Friday morning to defend the students.
The woman who took the cellphone video that showed the abuse said she was told to keep quiet after reporting it to the superintendent, Dr. Edie Martin.
Jami Riggs said she showed the video to Martin on Feb. 19, one day after recording it. It wasn't until weeks later that parents said they found out.
"Instead of taking immediate, appropriate action, Dr. Martin assured me everything would be handled correctly," Riggs said. "Instead of acting in the best interests of the students and reporting to the proper authorities, Dr. Martin hired an external investigator. I, along with other witnesses, were asked to sign a document stating we could not speak about the case. We were silenced. This is not what accountability looks like."
The investigation revealed that Martin contacted the district's law firm to commission an external investigation and did not report the suspected abuse to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services or the Parker County Sheriff's Office as required by state law, the sheriff's office said.
The investigation also revealed that the superintendent filed a report with the Texas Education Agency on Feb. 28, regarding one educator, then reported the allegations involving the second educator to TEA on March 3.
Another witness said they advised the superintendent to report the offenses to child protective services and law enforcement. The superintendent reportedly told the witness that she had already made a report to child protective services as of Feb. 20. The Paker County Sheriff's Office said it was first made aware of the alleged incidents at the school on March 4, when a parent of one of the victims contacted them to make a report.
The TxDFPS advised sheriff's investigators that the superintendent did not contact them, but the Sheriff's Office first notified them of the allegations on March 4.
The cellphone video showed teacher Jennifer Dale raising her arm to seemingly hit 10-year-old Alex Cornelius.
According to arrest warrants obtained from the Parker County Sheriff's Office, Dale said she did it "playfully."
Investigators charged Dale with official oppression – meaning she intentionally mocked, mistreated and tormented the three victims.
Another video showed paraprofessional Paxton Bean throwing a toy at the 10-year-old. She was also charged with official oppression and injury to a child with intentional bodily injury.
The superintendent was arrested for failure to report, intent to conceal regarding abuse allegations.
The boy's family told CBS News Texas that watching the video of the abuse was gut-wrenching.
"I don't want to cry, [it's] absolutely devastating," said Tanna Colley, a family member of Alex. "I could only watch the video once. It's disgusting, absolutely disgusting. They don't need to be around children, especially children with disabilities. I hope their careers are in shambles."
After the meeting, the board went into executive session where they discussed the outcome of the job status of the superintendent as well as the principal and assistant principal of Millsap Elementary, who are on administrative leave.
The boy's grandfather and other family members said they were thankful for the community members who showed up for them.
