A Kennedale family and the Arlington chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) continue to call for the resignation of Kennedale ISD's superintendent. They say he made racist comments toward an 8th grade student last month.
"I never expected my child to have this happen," Teressa Turner-Austin said. Turner-Austin is the mother of 8th grader Cameron Lyles.
Lyles, 14, said last month he was in the school lunchroom with classmates. He said they had permission to be there from their teacher, but then they were approached by an administrator they did not recognize — District Superintendent Chad Gee.
"He said, 'Why are you out of class?'" Lyles recalled.
Lyles said he tried to explain, but Gee escorted them back to class and said they should be marked as tardy. He said Gee became agitated and yelled at him, calling him "boy" and "dude."
"What I have learned, you shouldn't let anybody call you 'boy' or 'dude.' You're supposed to be called by your name," Lyles said. "He told me I was what's wrong with Kennedale and this is why the district is like this now."
According to district statistics, Kennedale ISD students are majority-minority, with 45% of the district's students identified as white. More than 80% of the district's teachers are white.
Arlington's NAACP chapter agrees with Lyles and Turner-Austin that the superintendent's statements are racist. They say the were overheard by other adults at the school. And NAACP president Alisa Simmons said Gee has become combative in meetings they have held with him in recent months over another racially-charged incident at a school last fall.
"What Cameron experienced is what we have experienced in meetings with him," Simmons said.
Last night, the family and the NAACP took it to the Kennedale school board, but they say the district did not agree to their request that Gee be terminated or disciplined.
"I was really expecting more," Turner-Austin said.
Through a district spokesperson, Gee declined WFAA's request for an interview. The district did release a statement from the school board president saying a training and diversity education program would be created in the district:
"...the Board hired an outside attorney to conduct an investigation into the allegations, in order to ensure a fair and impartial fact finding process. The Board carefully considered the information shared by the complaintant, as well as the conclusions of the investigation, and ultimately took action to grant the complaintant's request for the creation of a training and diversity education program.
"The Board recognizes that Kennedale ISD is part of a changing community and that an inclusive school environment is vital to the success of our students and our District," the statement said in part.
The family and their supporters still want a change in leadership because they say no student should have to learn about racism through experience.
"I'm still hurt. I've cried several times today," Turner-Austin said.