Lancaster ISD Families and Stakeholders,
The Lancaster ISD Board of Trustees values serving the district's staff and students and leading with integrity. As elected officials representing our community, it's critical for us as a governing body to maintain the trust of our community, uphold ethical standards, and hold each member accountable while striving toward the attainment of our mission – Empowering All students' purpose and passion through quality education.
Despite our effort to foster a collaborative and functional school board, two board members, Gregory Stephenson, District 2, and Temika Whitfield, District 3, have continually displayed behavior unbecoming of a board member. In full transparency, these trustees have consistently disregarded governance protocols, shown a lack of respect for fellow board members and our Superintendent, and disrupted board meetings. Such behavior is unacceptable for any board member, so board action to censure the two trustees was voted on and approved during the Thursday, November 16, board meeting..
Clear and open communication with our stakeholders is imperative as we strive to foster trust within our community. Therefore, I am providing the following information to ensure transparency regarding the decision to censure two board members and share additional details regarding information that has been shared publicly.
Media Coverage and Conservator Details
Local media has covered the story since our board voted to censure our two board members. The media coverage from WFAA and NBC 5 emphasized the unique nature of our board having an appointed Texas Education Agency Conservator overseeing board governance and our board's need to move forward with censuring two trustees. Our current conservator placement is unique and even more reason why the action to censure the two board members was necessary.
In August of 2023, the TEA conservator completed an assessment and developed a corrective action plan based on our board's needs. The plan offered an insightful overview of our district's strengths, identified areas of improvement, and growth opportunities that should lead our board to demonstrate effective governance. The plan includes several goals for our board to meet, and unfortunately, the conduct of the two censured trustees has impeded our corrective action plan progress. Specifically, three of the nine off-track areas described in the corrective action plan include the board's ability to uphold and abide by the Board Member Ethics policy or Rules of Order for Board Meetings, Trustees consistently following Board Operating Procedures and Superintendent protocols for requesting, receiving, or sending information to or from the Superintendent, and developing teamwork, problem-solving, and decision-making skills as a team with the Superintendent in a way that respects the right of individual members to express their viewpoints and vote their convictions yet honors the decisions of the majority.
All board members are aware that failure to follow the directives of a duly appointed conservator may result in further interventions and sanctions by the Texas Education Agency. To prevent this, our board took the necessary action to censure the two trustees who have consistently prevented our board from meeting the corrective action goals. Although the local media found this decision newsworthy, the goal is that this action will place us on the right track to eventually transform into an effective school board without a TEA appointed conservator. This can only occur with the cooperation of all board members elected to serve on behalf of the students, staff, and community of Lancaster ISD.
Alleged Board Member Assault
On August 1, 2023, Lancaster ISD Board Trustee Temika Whitfield filed a police report accusing Trustee Carolyn Morris of assaulting her during a closed session meeting on July 27, 2023. While details of the closed session are confidential, it's important to note that after it concluded, all trustees, including Whitfield and Morris, returned to the dais for the open meeting. There was no immediate report of the alleged assault to the board president, TEA conservator, or Lancaster ISD police. Whitfield continued the meeting, and video footage of the board reconvening to open session is available here. In addition, both trustees have continued to attend scheduled trustee meetings as usual.
Commitment
I am committed to steering our board in a positive direction, and will not let the actions of two trustees disrupt our business or hinder our progress. As a board, we should be focused on advancing our district and serving our community members who have entrusted us with this responsibility. We must do better, and we will do better to establish confidence and integrity within our community through partnership, where we develop a culture of trust through action.
I thank you for your continued support.
President Marion Hamilton
Lancaster ISD Board of Trustees