001foreign meeting of the Granbury Independent School District to order let the records show that the meeting there's a quorum present that the meeting was Dewey called and the notice was of this meeting was supposed to do in accordance with the Texas Southern meetings act government code chapter 551 at this time Dr Graham will you lead us in prayer thank you madam president if you'll pray with me heavenly father as we begin this new school year and we ask that the children of our district have a year filled with wonderful memories and exciting opportunities may they face each day with positivity knowing that no matter what comes their way they do not face it alone also we ask that you guide guard and direct the paths of our teachers and staff wisdom and focus to support
002our students throughout the year you're an amazing God and we are thankful for your love and mercy in Christ's name amen by the agenda shows an executive session unless the board has a specific question or our attorney Joy Moore there will be no executive session because all deliberation and action will be taken in Open session does any and do any of you require I would like you do any of you like to ask a question of our attorney with regard to procedures or process excuse me I don't know who is uh speaking in the audience but would you it's Mr Clark oh Mr Clark excuse me Mr Clark carry on sorry about that sarcarium that's a fellow board members do any of you have any questions on procedure or process if not there will be
003no um closed session tonight or executive session at this time I call him Joey Moore an attorney with Walsh Gallegos who will make a presentation on the investigation report regarding the trustee access Campus Library and get this situated can you guys hear me it's a good is that a good Dr Harrington okay good good evening ladies and gentlemen my name is Joey Moore for those of you who don't know me I think most of you do Joey let me make sure that the folks in the back can hear can you hear back thank you okay there we go again I'm Joey Moore I am a lawyer of the boss Gallegos I've been working with the district a little feedback okay maybe I should move it okay um again I'm Joey Moore I'm with Walsh gay
004guys I've been working with the district for several years I'm your outside general counsel and I am here tonight to provide you a report I'm going to be a little before I get into the report I want to be clear on what my role was in this process tonight I'm here to present a factual report that I have compiled from evidence related to an incident that occurred on August 2nd 2023 to be clear I did not conduct an investigation regarding this incident and this report contains no conclusions of law no legal recommendations and no legal advice this is simply a factual report the report I'm about to provide you is based on evidence collected by the administration to provide the board with information it may need to consider making decisions relevant to the board the
005information contained in this report is based solely on the evidence cited in the report documents videos and audio recordings for example this is an investigation report regarding the conduct of trustee Karen Lowry on August 2nd 2023. this report is prepared based on the information collected by the Granbury ISD Administration regarding a campus visit by trustee Karen Lowry on that date beginning on that date August 2nd was the operation school supply distribution and resource fair and it was held at Granbury High School operations school supply is a 501c3 non-profit organization which collects and distributes school supplies to students and Families in Need community members including Board of Trustees volunteer at this event on that day trustee Karen Lowry checked in at the high school office you will note on your report there are footnotes that cite
006to specific pieces of evidence that you have also been provided a company trustee Larry was an individual named Carolyn Reeves Ms Reeves checked in using the district's Raptor system Ms Reeves director check-in information States cafeteria in the field of destination reason as a trustee Mrs Lowry is issued a district identification badge which identifies her as a trustee employees and individuals with District identification badges are not required to check in through the Raptor system because trustees are not required to check in through the Raptor system or be fingerprinted like employees and volunteers things like that it has been the district's practice for the past several years to escort trustees when they visit campuses in short trustees are not given carte blanche access to Rome freely around around campuses the receptionist Janice Lee stated in an email
007which is cited there in in your packet of information I confirm having verbal exchanges with miss both Mrs Lowry and Mrs Reeves because I thank them both for volunteering for the day's duties during the disbursement of operation school supplies I have previously interacted with Mrs Lowry and Visually saw her GISD identification so I did not run her through the Raptor system please note the destination of Mrs Reeves is noted as cafeteria surveillance video shows trustee Lowry and Mrs Reeves entering the gsh ghs learning Commons which is the formal name for the library I will refer to it as the library from the West hallway and Enter The North Door at 9 25 a.m to enter the library trustee Lowry and Ms Reeves took a route that was Less Direct than entering from the access point
008closest to the cafeteria the shortest and direct most direct route to the library from the office is to walk along the left side of the cafeteria there is a map in your packet to show you the routes instead trustee Lowry and Mrs Reeves walked the length of the library turned right turned right again to enter the library on the back side at approximately 9 30 a.m assistant principal Danny Guidry walked past the library and saw two individuals inside in the dark and you'll see Mr Guidry's statement is also attached in your packet Mr Guidry saw the individuals using lighting from their phones to view library books when Mr Guidry entered the library Ms Reeves walked around from behind the librarian's desk trustee Lowry was in the library was in the library shelving Isles Mrs Mr
009Guidry indicated in his statement that it was so dark in the library it was difficult to see he informed the two individuals that the library was a secure part of the building and asked them if he could assist them trustee Lowry identified herself as a school board trustee and told Mr Guidry I have been asked by the superintendent to come and take come and look at some books Mr Guidry told trustee Lowry that the area would soon be used by students and asked her to leave as soon as possible trustee Lowry said okay thank you it will be fine in fact students did later access the library as Mr Guidry was leaving Ms Reeves asked him about a storage room Mr Guidry informed miseries that their room was used for storage for computer equipment and
010textbooks Ms Reeves tried to enter the room but the door was locked surveillance video indicates that trustee Lowry and Ms Reeves left the library unaccompanied at 10 50 a.m this was approximately one hour and 25 minutes after they entered the library and one hour and 20 minutes after they encountered Mr Guidry [Music] moving on to authorization to access the ghs library superintendent Dr Jeremy Glenn indicated that he was not contracted by trustee Lowry to schedule the August 2nd visit to the ghs library Dr Glenn stated in an email that's attached to your packet I have told trustee Lowry under our board standard operating procedures trustee can visit campuses including libraries however the expectation is that all trustees will follow the board's procedures for visitation Dr Glenn indicated that the campus Administration was not aware that
011trustee Larry would be visiting the library with a guest on August 2nd 2023. in Communications to trustee Lowry board president Barbara Harrington stated that during a meeting on July 19th that Dr Harrington had attended with trustee Lowry trustee graft and their attorney Dr Glenn told you that anytime you wanted to go to any Library all you had to do was call and make an appointment and check in with the principal this meeting was recorded and the audio recording also establishes that trustee asked as a trustee I can go to any library in any school at any time Dr Harrington and Dr Glenn both explained on that July 19th meeting that trustee Larry could visit libraries if she contacted campuses to make an appointment there is no evidence that trustee Larry made an appointment with the
012principal of ghs to visit the library on August 2nd 2023. your board operating procedures are cited in your packet and you have it as exhibit 9. the Granbury ISD board operating procedure State specifically and address trustee visits to campuses or District facilities listed there are the several factors regarding that which you can review it does say that trustees may visit campuses after checking in with the principal regarding the best time to visit as long as the visit doesn't disrupt the learning process trustees shall check in with the principal's office upon arrival and follow all campus guidelines for visitors and trustees are strongly encouraged to display their badge and identify themselves as trustee at all times um there's some other uh factors there that you can review but the most specific issues have been cited also
013board policy gkc states that um promise prominent notices shall be posted at each campus requiring all visitors to first report to the campus main office this shall apply to parents volunteers Social Service workers invited speakers maintenance repair persons not employed by the district essentially any any visitor of the district addressing the opportunity for trustee Lowry to respond board president board president Harrington sought a statement or respond from trustee Lowry regarding this issue three times the day after the incident on August 3rd president Harrington emailed trustee Lowry and provided her with a synopsis of the allegation it has been reported to me that you and Carolyn Reeves were observed in the high school library yesterday exhibiting what was described by some observers as very sneaky Behavior the reports that I got stated that you were in
014the Library without the lights on or behind the librarian's desk and were taking pictures of library books one report even stated that you were using your cell phone flashlight application I was told that when you check into the high school office the staff assumed you were that you were assisting with operation school supply distribution um as were some of your fellow board members were volunteering if these reports are not accurate please clarify what happened and that email is included in your packet the following day on February August 4th president Harrington sent Rusty another email in which president Harrington detailed the statements provided by the campus staff and reference the video evidence that had been secured and reviewed in closing Dr Harrington stated if you have any questions or wish to refute anything revealed in this
015investigation so far please feel free to reach out to me again that uh that email is cited in your packet in response trustee Lowry requested a copy of the video recordings Dr Harrington referenced on August 8th those recordings were provided to trustee Lowry on August 9th Dr Harrington reached out to trustee Lowry for a third time stating as we move into the finalization of the formal investigation into the allegations that you and a non-employed guest were in an unauthorized place there remains one important piece of information you have an opportunity to present a statement as part of the investigation this is an option for you but you are not but not a requirement please let me know by tomorrow if you plan to respond trustee Larry Lowry was then informed that all of the information
016collected in the investigation would be provided to the district's lawyer to compile an objective investigation report trustee Lowry responded to Dr Harrington's email on August 10th stating email received I will be making a statement and look forward to the opportunity it has now been eight days since you informed me of this investigation and I've been wondering when or if you will provide me with some due process by contacting me now that you advise me that you will be engaging this issue with your attorney I feel compelled to engage counsel for my own interest accept this email as my response during your required timeline however it will it will take some time to engage counsel to represent me with this issue the same day in response to trustee Lowry's comments Dr Harrington inquired if she could
017expect trustees Lowry response within a week as of the date of this report was compiled trustee Lowry has not submitted a response or a statement to Dr Harrington or the district regarding this incident other relevant information WFAA reported that trustee Lowry and another person were contacted by a Hood County law enforcement officer and asked if they would be the complaint regarding harmful materials in Granbury ISD libraries that report is cited in the report and news reports quotes trustee Lowry confirming that she was the complaint these narrative facts lead to several uncontested facts before the board for your valuation and consideration tonight Ms Lee assumed that trustee Lowry and Mrs Reeves were at the school to volunteer for Operation School school supply distribution and she's thanked them for that service Ms Lee's statement does not indicate
018that trustee Lowry or Ms Reeves corrected Ms Lee's assumption there is no evidence that trustee Lowry or Ms Reeves volunteered for operation school supply distribution while trustee Lowry and her guest did check in at the campus for their visit their purpose destination of accessing the learning Commons library was not disclosed Ms Reeves Raptor information indicates that she would be visiting the cafeteria which is where the operations school supply distribution event was being held there is no evidence that trustee Lowry contacted the campus principal for approval of any type of visit as required by the board operating procedures trustee Lowry told assistant principal I have been asked by the superintendent to come and look at some books Dr Glenn denies that he asked Dr trustee sorry Dr Glenn denozz that he asked trustee Lowry to go
019to the library and look at some books on August 2nd on July 19th Dr Glenn and Dr Harrington explained to trustee Lowry that she needed to make an appointment with the campus to visit the library when assistant principal gidri spotted trustee Lowry and Ms Reeves in the library it was so dark he could hardly see and he saw individuals using flashlights from their phone the video surveillance shows trustee Lowry and Mrs Reeves taking a longer route to the library rather than the more direct route across the Carotid cafeteria trustee Lowry and Ms Reeves were inside the library for approximately one hour and 25 minutes GISD board operating procedure State trustees may visit any campus after checking in with the principal regarding the best time to visit as long as the visit does not disrupt the
020learning process the board operating procedures also State trustees shall check in with the principal's office upon arrival and follow all campus guidelines for visitors campus protocols require visitors to disclose which portion of the campus the visitor intends on accessing District practice is to have uh District practice is to have administrators or other individuals to escort trustees who are visiting campuses trustees are not given full access to Rome campuses unattended board president Harrington and ask trustee Lowry for a statement on three separate occasions trustee Lowry did not provide a written statement to Dr Harrington that concludes the factual report thank you Miss Moore are there any questions Mrs won't related to her report a question um trustee Griff it was stated in some of the emails that there was an outside investigation who did the outside
021investigation which emails are you referring to the emails that went back and forth between President Harrington and us that there was an outside investigation I don't have that email to refer to what what is your question well I also sent an email to Dr Graham asking who is the outside investigator was I was just wondering if you know I can't speak to that yeah speak to that okay thank you [Music] all I'll speak to is what I know and that's that Miss Moore was contacted to provide this report any other questions asked Jeff thank you it's more very much for uh reviewing I'm sorry I do have one more question Miss I'm sorry I just thought of one I apologize I thought of it at the last minute um how much are we paying for
022you to come here today to to do this what are you asking what my hourly rate is yeah how much how much are we how much in your clients now or in the rate is 335 an hour okay so that's what so we are going to be paying for you to do this today to come and make the statement correct yes okay thank you I appreciate that any other questions thank you Miss Moore thank you thank you Miss more so much for reviewing the information and making the report after our last meeting Monday night uh several people approached me because during some very serious business uh during that board meeting where we had a public hearing on setting the tax rate and uh the budget for the 23-24 school year we had the appointment of
023a principal at Bonner Elementary School we had a an update on security including audit results and school Marshals we had a large number of very important things including calling some Bond issues we had a 592 page board book that had 38 specific items that upon which reacted during that board meeting or after that board meeting several individuals came and commented that they didn't hear a lot of what we were discussing which was very important because there were personal conversations going on around them which interfered with their hearing so tonight I would ask you if you have a personal conversation you'd like to have with your neighbor sitting next to you if you will Take It Outside The Boardroom so that the people around you could hear also Monday night I was quite frankly embarrassed and
024ashamed of the lack of respect for each other and each other's opinions with which we disagree with what others think tonight because it's the special meeting by law all citizens during the open foreign Forum all their comments must address only those items on the agenda each speaker will be given three minutes we'll be here a while since there are well over 50 speakers you will each be given three minutes if you uh do and but you must limit your speech to the agenda item if you do not limit your speech to the agenda item you will your time will be we will be stopped in your time will will be taken away from you all right outbursts between facts and factions nor will we tolerate individual cat calls or rude responses to speakers of the
025board from the audience it is our desire to have every person who wishes to speak to this board be heard before the board deliberates the issues however behaviors such as Behavior such as was displayed on Monday night will not be tolerated tonight and individuals will be removed from meeting immediately if you break that decorum having said that at this time we will go into our open forum and I will ask you to observe your three minutes because that we will interrupt you after at the end of three minutes if you have not stopped oh I did uh the first person would speak is Julia Pennell thank you well obviously I'm not Julia Pennell she's very ill and asked me to read her statement and I got approval from the people out there that I could
026my name or her name is Julia Pennell she came with her husband Bob at concerned taxpaying citizen who worked for the community to make Hood County a better place in which families have a great opportunity to live in a safe trustworthy environment including our great GISD school system when recent actions of a current trustee became open news to the public Bob and her sent the following email to all trustees with a copy to superintendent Glenn we felt like our trust has been violated the email was addressed to trustee Lowry Place seven with copies of all to all current Place members we also included copying superintendently and the email reads as follows I recently watched a very disturbing video regarding your actions of entering a gsid Library without the permission from either the school principal and
027or the superintendent the first beware signal to everyone in Hood County should be that you entered and registered to help with operation school supplies yet you proceeded to go on a secret mission entered the library the cameras caught the lights from your cell phones being used inappropriately and without permission to make a search in that school library I understand when confronted trustee Larry that you use your position as a board member to say that you have been given access by Dr Glenn this has proven to be false statement as well what does this say to our students about being a liar I believe you and your accomplished Carolyn weaves knew exactly what you were doing people do not have to sneak around in the dark when their actions are above reproach this brings me back
028to the subject of my email a manner of trust to me I find that you have taken this trust given to you by voters and turned right around and slapped them in their faces while I did not vote for you once elected I expected you to live up to your campaign Promises of being open honesty to the board all parents and teachers should be up in arms over such actions do you think that your trustee position gives you the right to violate and Trust trespass over rules and regulations and to have power over the teachers and invade their work invade their work in their workplace or classroom as a strong Community leader We join others in saying no we will not tolerate such actions we ask that you no longer embarrass yourself and are the
029rest and the rest of the GI said GISD board trustees resign making room for someone who will follow you and bring back trust to place seven Bob and Julia Pennell thank you bye Joe Overstreet [Music] you better be so clear I'm just giving it an order that they were handed to me I understand thank you Dr Harrington board Dr Glenn my name is Jehovah Street as Dr Harrington called out I'm from Granbury I've been here since the Eisenhower presidency along with uh obviously a lot of people here I was in the first freshman class in the current building along with a few people here a few classmates are here 50 years ago this month we started our freshman year in that building I came back I'm teaching school at Granbury High School I've been there
030this is my 13th year 15 total I'm currently teaching honors anatomy and physiology by the way with a 2003 textbook just want you know and also health science also previously several years ago I served four to five years on a Christian School Board last two years was as a president so I been through been through this a little bit uh I would like to talk a little bit about trustee 101 this is all in the email that I sent Sunday night first of all you never act as an individual you need to attend training even if it is the dreaded TSB training never give anyone the impression that they are addressing a board member when you're not in the boardroom you're just an individual be prepared do your homework get ready for the board meetings
031you don't need to table items when you get here especially if you have you know zodiacy to present from the board do not be beholden to any one group represent everybody the entire school and then you know all the taxpayers vote your conscience but live with and support board decisions uh the next one kind of goes along with that if decisions aren't going along with you stay off of social media and don't gripe about it support the board decisions uh lastly for trustee 101 you have one employee and he has all the rest we have about 2500 people at ghs had the teachers and the students it's like a small City I'm Sorry Miss Lowry but your group that supports you you can't disregard the other people that you don't like lastly I'll cut it
032off quick here you're a trustee which comes from the word trust your actions on August 2nd broke that trust and now you're kind of doubling down so for me and many teachers the trust is gone please do the right thing thank you Mr Overstreet Brett deason good evening board I think Mr over Street covered part of what I'm going to talk about but um I think what we're missing here is these people's understanding the role of the board and uh he mentioned some of it but uh I'll read from the Texas Education Code a district is governed by a Board of Trustees plural who has a body corporate shall oversee the management of the district ensure that the superintendent implements and monitors plans procedures programs and systems to achieve appropriate clearly defined and desired results
033in the major areas of District Operations now I want to point out again it says plural trustees and a body corporate not one individual um also the only employee the trustees have is a superintendent as well there's a number of other things that I'm going to skip a little bit of what I had in here but there's a section in the Texas Education Code about micromanagement is the attempt by a board or one of more of its members to deal with administrative matters that are responsibility of the superintendent acting with an overall policy set by the board in conformance with state or federal law again you've overstepped your bound it's not your job to go through the library and go through books it's your job to set policy not not take action like this on
034your own it's the job of the superintendent to carry out that policy that the board has set as a group so I've heard a lot of people say wish he didn't violate anything there's several examples of the Texas Education he was Voting out code that she's violated I've also heard since Monday night after we talked about the violation of trust that she hadn't violated any ethics well I contend that she's violated a whole host of Ethics that are printed on his board policy that it also ties back to state law because you're supposed to set the code of ethics and several of those well let's just start I will tell the truth you just see people when you checked in at operational orphans I'm sorry operation school supplies you lied to the assistant principal about
035having permission there as well too this is not the first time you've lied about anything there's a secret recording by Melanie Graft where y'all talked about you've never gone against board policy or board votes uh that is so false it is it's kind of funny I've got a I've got a copy of a board a letter to the editor with did you pinned your name to throw in all of your fellow board members accepting this craft under the bus for both that they took um about a a illegitimate agenda item because there were already items in place to report criminal activity here's your name to it [Music] there's a question whether you ever wrote it because somebody used third person in that deal so that's that's one thing there so you've you've lied again in
036that recording you lied to Dr Glenn and Dr Harrington in that recording um [Music] thank you Sherry Johnson [Music] good evening Dr Glenn and school board members and I'm going to do this very quickly kind of goes along with what I've already heard others say what are the pair I did some research because I honestly didn't know exactly what the powers and duties of the school board members are so I did some research and according to the Texas Association of school boards School Board trustees are not like other public office holders such as City Council Members state legislators or County Commissioners once elected a school board trustee serves on a body corporate and the board's constituency is the district itself not a group of Voters the trustees are called upon to serve the needs of
037the district and its school children as a whole not the wishes of a particular block of Voters unless authorized by the school board a member of the board may not individually act on behalf of the board for the most part the role of an individual board member is limited to preparing for attending and participating in properly called meetings conduct conducted in accordance with the Texas open meetings act according to the Texas Association of school boards the trustees on the school board must not Place themselves in situations where their personal interests conflict with those of the district in other words Karen Lowry has no power or authority to go to any School Library without permission she could only do what she did as long as the principal was aware and someone of authority was with her
038to look at books not only did she not have permission she actually lied about it and snuck around in the dark for an hour and a half knowing fully that she shouldn't be there she may have won a school board election but that does not mean that the general constituency of Granbury believes exactly as she does concerning Banning certain books Karen Lowry needs to remove herself from the Board of Trustees effective immediately thank you thank you Miss Johnson Faith Barnes faith [Music] good evening [Music] my name is Faith Barnes I am a Community member I have two students fourth and seventh grade I also have one that graduated in 2021 um I would like to thank you guys that are up here that support public education those of you who respect the policies and procedures
039of this school district and those of you who fight to come together every day to do what is best for the 8 000 students in this District I'm speaking on item number seven Mrs Lowry was elected in November of last year not only with a specific agenda a personal agenda but what I would consider an obsession that let clouds her judgment controlling library books in our district before Miss Lowry was elected there were already procedures in place that allowed Community or parents to challenge any book in question this process is rigorous and includes a committee of St of staff and parents Miss Lowry did not reach out to campus administrators nor Librarians to get information nor did she file a challenge with the district she took matters into her own hands after being told she
040could not enter the Library without administrator approval she did so anyway under the assumption that she was serving our community Mrs Lowry believes she is above the policies and procedures that are in place to ensure the safety of my children and protect their private information if Miss Lowry believes as an elected official she has the right to go into a restricted area what will be next the counseling office nurse's office any area with student information what information of mild child or your child does she believe she has the right to have [Music] if Miss Lowry does not resign or is not reprimanded for her actions I believe she is more dangerous to our district and students than any book in our library George Freeman [Music] thank you excuse me thank you for the opportunity to
041address the board I really my name is George Freeman I really have two points to make no one who enters a school public school facility in the hours it's not in operation is deceptive about where you're going operates in the dark and when confronted by the vice principal lies about why they're there no one who does that has an honest belief in their heart that they're doing a legitimate errand anyone who does that knows they're operating outside the world so it's plain and it would be easy to say well with Harm's done you know she was trying to do a good thing the fact is this is the thin end of the wedge of a movement across the country of people who believe that an end they support and they believe in justifies the means
042and even trustee Lowry knows this isn't true because in a really stunning uh plea to the rules as Dr Harrington when she'd be provided due process you can't have this both ways you're either subject to the rules or you're not and again it may seem extreme to say that she should resign her position but I say that she should resign her position because she has betrayed the public trust and if she so strongly feels this is a sentiment of the community we run for her position but I'll leave you those two points there is no credible story that she did not know what she was doing was outside the rules and was uh an illegitimate search and in calling out for due process she knows herself that there are rules that should be observed thank
043you thank you Mr Freeman Susan wood I wonder if it would serve us well to say that the next person up is going to be Ed Elder so we will do this to help process this between people Miss Wood thank you very much my name is Susan wood I'm a resident of Granbury I wish I could say that I am surprised by trustee Karen Lowry's Behavior but I'm not this is what happens when individuals who do not value and support public education are elected as school board members the job of a trustee is to support and promote our Public Schools the trustees that truly care about our district distribute school supplies to underprivileged kids they come prepared to meetings they do their research on agenda items they attend and participate in trainings GISD School Board
044trustees swear to uphold seven ethical standards a few of these I will pull out for emphasis equity and attitude I will encourage expression of different opinions and list with an open mind trustworthiness and stewardship I will make no personal promise or take private action that may compromise my performance as Ms Groff pointed out Ms Lowry's behavior is necessitated us spending money to hire a neutral investigator to review Ms Lowry's actions honor and conduct I will tell the truth Integrity of character I will uphold all laws rules policies and procedures commitment to service I will diligently prepare for and attend meetings and student-centered focus I will be guided by what is best for all the students in the district Carol Lowry has broken all of these promises and she has acted against board policy as a
045result the board should censure her for her actions and she should resign thank you thank you Miss Wood after Mr elderly will speak we will have Grant Wood good evening as a 22-year marine I know a little something about leadership and I am shocked by Harrington and Glenn that you've handled this by having a kangaroo court having a group of people of radical people uh attack and and demean somebody and then say that we need a bond I'll tell you what I don't see that the bond is going to be passed when we have incompetent leadership and I'm going to be working on getting some new people elected so we can do some house cleaning and as far as these I served on a board one time and a school board and it was reported
046to me that girls were being taken out against the law for abortions and so I did a similar thing and found out so there are things going on in this District there's been a lectioneering there was a lady that testified Monday about electioneering going on and then you pass the thing Monday so you can have more electioneering so you have a record of it so you can't be trusted you guys sick of me and and the community is going to understand that we need to clean house before we have a bond or we do anything we need to clear out the corruption God help you Mr Elder Mr Elder just to clarify I hope you are not referring to this school district providing abortions to kids Mr wood after you be fair problem good evening
047thank you to the superintendent and the trustees thank you for allowing me to speak um in honor of my old uh journalism teacher I won't bury the lead Ms Lowry should resign from the board her actions have stolen attention from the primary task of the board the management of the public schools well she claims that her entry to the library was requested by the superintendent she did not follow protocols and guidelines established to the school district she is aware of these [Music] but decided to ignore them After ignoring these protocols she then lied to staff about her authorizations and intent in her oath quote I will make no person promise or take private actions that may compromise my performance or responsibilities unquote the research has rules and regulations governing the duties and responsibilities of Trustees
048Administration teachers and staff on this occasion Ms Lowry violated multiple rules and regulations and then lied to staff and administration if she was an employee of the school district there would likely be serious consequences to her actions perhaps a severe is being terminated Ms Lowry should resign from the board for displaying poor judgment bad leadership lying and abuse of her office thank you for your attention on this matter thank you Mr wood after Mr Alam we will have Jamie Hamrick ladies and gentlemen of the board last time I spoke to you I was angry Karen Lowry and her accomplice had gained access to our children's federally protected Student Records my anger has not subsided and I have filed for a formal investigation conducted by the Department of Education for a violation of our children's rights
049under the family educational rights and Privacy Act an apparent or guardian of the GSD can file such a report through the Department of Education website Federal investigators will be contacting you and it will be in your best interest to fully comply with the request for information they will be asking you questions had Miss Lowry been informed of the proper procedure to visit the library and did she follow it did Mrs Lowry make an appointment or attempt to contact the principal of ghs prior to her visit didn't miss Lowry I'd accurately identify where she was going to the front of her staff did Mrs Lowry enter an area of the school that was restricted from non-gisd employees why did Miss Lowry invite an accomplice who is not part of GISD has this accomplice been reported to
050any law enforcement is this is there a Bard policy that prohibits this kind of behavior what kind of action did you take when all the facts had become known about this incident did you do everything in your power to protect our children members of the board make no mistake that your actions are going to be as carefully examined by federal investigators as the actions taken by Miss Lowry herself your individual actions will be judged by the Department of Education how do you think that will play out have you acted on your convictions related to the evidence in this case or are we letting things go and justifying Federal violations of student privacy have you contacted law enforcement the tea or the Department of Education to report that a board member and a non-gisd employee with
051no children in our school system effectively trespassed into a protected student area of the school with our student files for an hour and a half tonight a vote to Central Mrs Lowry just isn't enough you board members who have not made statements now should feel compelled to break your silence break your silence to the public and break your silence to the authorities a federal investigation is going to ask what you did after all the evidence was reviewed I suggest that you prepare for that this is a big deal and if there was ever a time to do the right thing to protect our children and our teachers now is that time thank you Mr Holland ah this Hamlet after Miss Hamrick we will have our Jess Jackson Jr good evening my name is Jamie Hamrick
052and I have a child at the high school in Awana actor Middle School I come to not not out of anger but out of concern for our schools and while there are so many versions of what actually happened on August the 2nd there are things I know to be true Miss Lowry I said on the library policy committee with you in our meeting I specifically stated I understood that the board had three responsibilities hiring and firing the superintendent approving a budget and setting a tax rate Dr Harrington confirmed that I was correct and you did not contend this statement you also did not disagree or contend one proposed change in the policy so imagine my surprise on Monday when you wanted to table the exact policy you agreed on Lori Wallace the high school librarian
053was also on this committee upon introducing yourself and informing her you would be coming to do a check on her Library she had nothing but a welcoming response and even stated she felt very good that all books in the library were within State guidelines my question to you is did you call her did you send her an email or even try to set an appointment to visit and inspect the high school library if you did then I would not think that it was agreed upon that you go on a day when she wasn't there and it was dark inside the Library during your campaign and your current tenure on the board you've made it clear you are here to protect the children of Hood County we are a title one District my question to you
054again is have you gone to each principal and counselor in the schools who actually spend time with these children for hours each day and ask them how you can help the kids and if you have was their first answer making sure you remove pornographic books from the libraries was that their first answer I would guess with students in a title one district there need you and I cannot even fathom at this moment furthermore you're so laser focused on the book issue you're missing opportunities to support our students you chose to go to a library inspection rather than volunteer at operation school supply our schools the students and staff are more than just books but you cannot even see it there's so much good in our ISD and you but you're not even trying to find
055it go sit with some of these teachers and principals to find out how you can get involved for the good don't go with the attitude of how can I find all the bad but yet how can I help if you're not going with an attitude of helping and supporting our schools then it's hard to find how you're upholding an oath of representing our students families teachers and staff thank you after after Miss Jack uh Jess Jackson Jr we will have Mark Jackson [Music] thank you Dr Harrington board members I appreciate the opportunity to speak my name is Jess Jackson Jr I live in Hood County I don't live in the city but I am within the school district I very much appreciate the last speaker acknowledging your pornographic books within the library I am here
056really at primarily because as has been mentioned this is a wedge issue this is an issue that is Nationwide what books are being in the library what are not granberry obviously already has issues based on the superintendent's actions with the airplane there are people I believe Mr Mr Jackson yes ma'am you may not speak to anything but the issues with smooth Lowry I believe those go together Dr Harrington but I do appreciate your concern thank you you know I'll continue on if that's okay thank you and I believe that the key issue here is is trust and that's been addressed over and over and so I think that's the the challenge here is I haven't heard anything as far as what Karen might have found or not found I haven't I don't understand as a
057board member in other places um why the board here appears to be working for the superintendent I I don't know why board members need permission to go to a public school and the term accomplice is also I believe uh fraught with a Charged emotion that's not actual and it's not correct uh if I have a friend come with me it's not they're not an accomplice they're a friend so I think we need to be careful with our wording we need to as you pointed out be considerate of each other as much as we possibly can and try to make sure that we're doing the best thing for the students and for this taxpayers and then for the staff thank you for the opportunity to speak after Mark Jackson we will hear uh Hannah I think
058it's bone but I'm not I apologize Hannah my name is Mark Jackson I came for you tonight make a brief statement regarding tonight's main agenda item I'm here frankly because it saddens me to see the discourse on this board the last couple of years as you know I served on this very body over 12 years and although we often had disagreements I'm not sure it ever Rose in fact I am sure it never Rose to the level where it's at now so I wanted to offer my unique perspective in a couple of brief observations first we do have rules about 2000s our own Dr Harrington wrote and got the board to adopt its own procedure manual and that's been referenced a couple of times tonight that manual offers a framework and provided basically everything a
059trustee needs to know about how to go about their business without overstepping their Natural Balance as an elected official in Granbury citizen it was not designed to quell anyone's personal beliefs or prohibit them from speaking their mind but rather to help us as a board be congenial respectful and have regard for one another's differences while maintaining a certain level of decorum even in times like this every trustee gets his booklet as they come on the board as you know second while it was true we as taxpayers Citizens and parents have the right to access public properties there are important protocol and security procedures that must be followed to ensure the safety and integrity of our students teachers and staff my wife's own classroom by the way is right across from the library this is to
060maintain all of their trust to follow these procedures tonight I think we'd all agree the facts are undeniable the time at which Miss Lowry entered the building is documented how she checked in where her destination eventually was who was with her in what they were reportedly doing in the library with their flashlights those facts are documented by videotape even eyewitness accounts but what we're going to disagree on is an interpretation of those facts right that's the real discourse here tonight so where do we go from here I'll offer just a brief personal experience of mine I'm not trying to be quick several years ago I was on the sidelines Friday Night Football nothing like it right the bright lights teams on the field the band playing cheerleaders cheering well security guard came up to me
061and I was wearing my band Mr badge I was there on good authority and said is that your son over there well the nine-year-old was rolling down the hill on the south side of the stadium with superintendents often let kids play out there well the city card approached my son they asked someone who do you belong to I'll be very quick they said don't you know who my father is sorry Mike thank you so much it was a great story had a funny punchline and a good moral to the story for everybody here and thank you for your use of service after this rain will be Gregory Gifford so miss Bank boom thank you I pronounced it but two times and I pronounced it differently both times I'm sorry I know mine my maiden name
062was easier Andrews so okay thank you so much Joe Madam president School Board trustees and superintendent um I'm Hannibal I'm a mom of preschool age kids um Miss Lowry I do demand that you resign and I hope the school board members superintendent and other faculty agree also ask in demand that you resign and accept your resignation it seems kind of silly that I have to remind you that there is an ongoing federal investigation into the school district regarding breaking civil rights and a discrimination laws yet no we're still smoothing around the library [Music] you are beholden to the students teachers and staff to do what is best for them and I just want you to think and everybody what type of role model is she for the students here I'm also kind of curious like
063what would be the consequence of a student did that um I just want the queer community of Granbury ISD to know that you matter you're important despite the hurtful and shaming words that have come from the superintendent various school board members community members just know that you and people have people in your community and teachers and counselors in your school they care about you and accept you Just the Way You Are you are just a person you're meant to be no matter what anybody says and Miss Lowry if you really want to keep the kids safe as you have publicly stated you'd keep materials in the schools that make queer youth feel accepted and safe which would lower the astoundingly high rates of suicide in this demographic instead you're attempting to implement your personal religious
064morals to our public schools and ostracizing those kids that need your help the most and it would also be helpful if you'd stop interfering with the investigation that is currently ongoing with the federal government that is aimed to protect the students of our district thank you School Board after Mr Gifford will be Elizabeth Mercer okay Dr Glenn members of the board my name is Greg Gifford I live in decordova Bend Estates my comments will be brief I've got a little military experience myself when a person in a position of leadership fails to conduct himself or herself properly the Superior to that person make a change in that job now it may be your accompanying Commander a battalion Commander division Commander this year for Navy captains were removed from their ship the reason the Navy gives
065is two words failure of confidence failure of leadership we need leadership at all levels of course in our Administration but definitely on the board our Board of Trustees must exemplify the qualities we want our students to learn we want our students to be honest we want our students to play by the rules and with this failure of leadership I feel that Ms Lowry should resign her position and we get somebody in there that the students can have confidence in thank you Mr perfect after Miss Mercer will be uh Vicki Butler good evening so I'm not going to go over all of the evidences already been presented I'm just going to say this based on the concern so many parents expressed about their personal the children's personal information through two databases that can be accessed apparently
066from the library one of that is the federal database but one of them is a local database it doesn't just give your children's you know academic issues it also lists all kinds of personal information including your economic status or whether or not you need free lunch because maybe you come from a working class family I don't know if that was accessed but tea can tell you because they can do an investigation and they should in addition to that Ms Laurel you had two warnings about how you were supposed to conduct yourself ma'am the first one was in the manual that was already presented and the second one was verbally those two warnings mean that you are guilty of Criminal Trespass they're not going to pursue that and that's truly unfortunate because they should you should
067be bound by the same laws that everyone else is bound by I understand the position the board is in I understand you're not going to be able to do that but again it is unfortunate you made a decision ma'am and the consequences of your actions should be yours and I do urge you all of you to check that database and see if it was accessed because every family in this ISD deserves to know that their personal information their address their economic status everything they have a right to know that that's been secured thank you thank you Mr somebody must have leaned on the lights could you take the spot thank you uh after Miss Butler will be uh final Alan Lata thank you good evening I'm going to make this shorter than I did the
068last time I was here but based on the video discussed and the report presented at the beginning of this meeting trustee Lowry it is apparent that you willfully defied the school board president and the superintendent on protocol to visit the library and therefore broke the trust of the citizens of Granbury you have not only embarrassed yourself locally but now have national news coverage on your actions you are a disgrace to our school board our students and the residents of Granbury and I'm asking you to do the right thing and volunteer resign from your position on the school board immediately thank you for your time thank you Miss Butler at the Mr Lotto we will have that Maxwell thank you for this opportunity my name is Alan Latta my first name is Samuel I go by
069my middle name I have lived as a tax paying homeowner on Viewpoint Drive in Mountain View Estate since the summer of 94. we have two children that graduated from this fine school district and so I just thank all of you for serving such a district our children are doing well as are our five grandchildren the issue at hand today is a simple one hinged on a clear yes or no question it's not about he said she said what said what shouldn't be said or hearsay the question is were GISD policies violated by an elected official where the GID GISD policies violated by an elected official if so then take the necessary measures that must be taken were District policies violated by someone elected by the public yes or no it's that simple cut through the
070threats and the fear and the suspicions was there a violation of clear policy I came here today to speak because I witnessed Monday's meeting online thank you so much for streaming this when I came in and signed in I picked up a copy of policies they're quite clear I'm attempting to abide by them where policies violated by an elected official if any board members believe that policies need to be changed fiction to remedy the problem for the sake of the future but it would be unjust to do so retroactively last Monday's important public meeting was used by some as a platform for a few wild allegations such as harming our children or even a conspiracy effort to shut down all public schools in America GISD board members please resist the temptation to fill in the
071blanks with anyone's suspicions fears or prejudices to jump to incorrect conclusions just because others want us to do so is not a good precedent to follow or to set again where District policy is violated by an elected official yes or no today the elected official in question is Karen Laurie but in the future it could be someone else before right in the office another polarized citizen please know in Canada always election I voted for the incumbent but today I'm speaking on her behalf did she violate clear policy yes or no if a school district is going to take actions burst based on personal feelings or someone's emotions suspicions outcries or conspiracy theories or politics then that District's policies will become compromised once again to Karen Lowry valet clear District policy because I've opinionated people your
072tasks today may seem difficult but actually the answer to this issue [Music] Mobly I'll get him right Tony I'm sorry board and staff thank you for your time Miss Lowry with the reports given tonight relating to your actions and hearing so many from the community I have one question for you do you feel any remorse she I apologize trustees won't address the public this is the opportunity for the public to comment Mr Maxwell yes sir well it's something to think about I also have a question if that I understand you can't answer [Music] why did you turn the lights off the reality is today that we have a lot of division in our community I for one as a parent have led by example and I'm proud to be my children's parent because I do
073lead by example as a Christian as a community member as a servant and we have people that are on this board that I'm grateful for my my children to look up to but there are some that very very clearly are leading a bad example have a special place in my heart Miss Lowry for people who are willing to serve in this capacity it's a very tough job but I am asking you please for the sake of this community that is broken that so many have put Blood Sweat heart and tears into so that way we can begin to heal please take a step back and think about the children in our community thank you [Music] so how's your week going you know once again we make the national news for all the wrong reasons it
074seems to be happening pretty regular right now first of all thank you Dr Glenn Dr Harrington board staff and especially security at the council I used to tell security I hope your nuts are really boring and I'd say the same thing to you guys because that means everybody can take a deep breath and actually do do what we're supposed to do while we're here you know when you enter into office you learn the things you can't do but more importantly you learn the things you can't do everybody thinks they're going to go in there and shake their fist and they're going to change all these things and then you learn or you should go to classes that teach you what you can't do and how to stay out of jail and how to stay out
075of trouble they're worth your time well some here question your integrity your professionalism your faith your motivations and agenda I just want to say thank you thank you for being professional when you're looking to your accusers in the eyes thanks for staying the course and doing what is right you know the Constitution is quoted here a lot and so is the Bible and so are my rights and your rights these accusers talk about the Constitution the Constitution allows freedom of speech and freedom of religion but the some of these folks think as long as you're saying what they want you to say say it if you don't then we've got to squash you religion freedom of religion as long as it's mine the Bible is thrown around by these folks as well they narrowly quote
076the Bible and there's a lot of misuse of the Bible in here they say you have to follow every plank of the Republican platform or you're banished to the corn fields that the Bible that they quote if you take all of that and say we're gonna we're gonna abide by that running quote First Timothy 2 12 it says do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man she must be quiet nobody ever mentions that here thank God because that's why some of you guys are sitting here if some of these activists spent time with their children and parenting we wouldn't have one activist whose son's awaiting a theft charge another one that thinks it's more important to pay for a porn site than to pay his child support we could
077learn a lot from library books you know my wife and I raised two children they've turned about to be good faithful patriotic adults they don't live with us they all lived with the grandparents they live on their own we also taught them outside of our walls their other beliefs and we need to respect these people and love them and not banish them to the cornfields thank you for your time thank you thank you can y'all hear me it's up too high yeah it's okay uh you can pull it down a little if you'd like Andrew there you go better yeah that's it okay uh hello happy to be back again um try to finish my speech from Monday uh Jump Right In The Toxic element that we are seeing here is due to a small
078group uh Karen and her Associates invent problems and spur division rarely have I heard this group and Karen even talk about kids beyond the repeated line we are protecting students we uh are you protecting students from being bullied are you protecting students from anxiety caused by standardized testing what are you protecting students about books what about school shootings I've never even heard y'all bring up any of these issues that alone exposes your true agenda it's never been about the kids no parent thanks I hope I don't come home from work and catch my kid reading Karen and others say they're protecting their kids from explicit our kids from explicit language the kids at the middle school and the high school hear explicit language every day an issue I brought up many times including the n-word
079and and other slurs from fellow students unlike the books hearing hate on a regular basis does hurt kids you want to regulate language in schools work on eliminating hate speech make a positive change we've listened to you threatened teachers try to get people fired condemning your neighbors to hell you make demands that you have zero authority to make you don't even go here based on my observations some community members have developed an unhealthy obsession with book Banning and at this point they are willing to do anything break trust break safety defy rules and lie for what to get a Smoking Gun so that you can prove your righteousness so that you can bring down the school district who's that helping what is that for why is that for the kids why why the obsession with
080finding these books why is that your fantasy it's weird the kids don't care about this a lot of the parents don't care about this I got 14 seconds uh book Banning friends this has been two years please find a better hobby there are real problems here students are homeless hungry they suffer from abuse if you really care about kids focus on that and thank you use your energy for good be blessed thank you foreign hello I'm Connie Lessman I'm a voter I'm a taxpayer I'm a mother I raised an adult not a child he went to this School graduated University I know some of you on this board I have met you and I think you have one of the worst horrible heartless jobs in the world what I'm asking is well let me go
081a little bit on me I was a volunteer in this district for over 20 plus years I was at Bacchus I was in a reading program that helped children probably didn't have any books in their school in their home the only books they have were at school we taught children how to read I'm going to ask you Karen if you are still on the board please go to these schools go sit with these children meet the teachers go have lunch I know Barbara Harrington went to the program that I was a part of and these kids need to see adults need to see people that make them know they're Worthy thank you for what you're doing and thank you for this time thank you very much speak and the next one will be John Bach
082I have previously heard folks say I come to you with a heavy heart and I don't think in all my 82 years that have I ever had to use that expression until tonight my heart is heavy and I am sad Miss Lowry because of all the demons you have called to the Granbury school system the students the teachers and the town of Granbury when you ran for office I attended several the candidates forms where you had a chance to tell voters your plans improve the Granbury schools at the meetings I attended you always read your comments and your comments were always about the books when to ask a question not referring to the books you never could answer those questions directly but always went back to the books new script making many of us wonder
083who was writing those scripts since you became a school board member you have continued to talk about those books at every school board meeting I have attended it's always the books the books the books the books again reading your script every time you speak and causing your the audience to wonder again who's writing these Scripts all the all in all in this room when our all of us in this room on our students to succeed in their lives in their careers if they marry in their marriages and in order to do that they need great teachers coaches and staff in their schools such as who we are blessed to have here in Granbury I have to think you also want success and happiness for our students however your only concern seems to be those books
084when there are so many other important issues that need to be addressed you ran for election promising to read our school libraries of the books and you proved us over and over again this is your only concern you even lied and snuck your way into the school library to prove your complaint that there's still those horrible books in this Hospital Library seems like it's okay to sneak in the dark and then lie about it but not for others to have access to books that you find offensive by sneaking in where you are not allowed to be and then lying about it what a poor example of a human being you have shown to our students our staff our community and now a broader Community because you called the Granbury ISD be on the TV several
085times and not always in a good light and in the process you have noted titles to certain books which are kiddos would never have read and now when we are going to read them just to see what smut you claim is in them and if these books have already been removed from our school libraries I bet the kids will go to their phones or computers to check out the subjects pictures and language you have brought to their attention if you truly love our students and are so concerned about the future it's time for you to resign you have done nothing but hurt our kiddos our school and embarrass our community I end this with this quote there is absolutely nothing wrong with a parent deciding a certain book is not right for their child there
086is a class muscle problem with a parent deciding that therefore no child should be allowed to read that book Thank you Mr friendly after Mr Bach will be Robert Granger foreign [Music] since tonight's meeting is specifically about trustee Lowry and the recent High School incident I'll get right to the point I think trustee Lowry should resign if she will not do that then censure is the next best option I am retired after 30 years working at Comanche Peak during that time I participated in many boards and committees sometimes for information or research but on occasion give an extensive Authority with impact on budgets even nuclear safety of the plants and community if I had ever acted with similar disregard for the Norms rules and functioning of those groups I would have been removed demoted possibly
087fired and quickly as I've heard superintendent Glenn say many times GISD is the largest employer in Hood County as a Granbury resident GISD gets the largest chunk of my property taxes every year so I have a vested interest in the proper functioning of the school board what I am seeing is not proper functioning and you are a big part of that problem trustee Lowry you are obsessed with pornography obsessed obsessed in candidate forms I attended last year it is all you talked about yes you got it got you elected but that's another problem for Hood County to tackle your single issue focus on pornography has not allowed you to be a fully useful member of this board recently you have been unprepared to vote on agenda items because you had not read or attended or
088participated in research or groups that would help you come to an informed decision that is not excess acceptable and is another reason you should resign so a functional trustee can fill that position trustee Lowry please do this community a favor and resign from this board thank you thank you Robert hanger the Mr elander good evening Dr Harrington Dr Glenn Ward thank you for this opportunity to come up here um you put together a committee to review books and event books I knew some of those people some of those people I did not know some of those people I don't really care to know but they all came back with this same story every every everybody I heard talk about that committee all had the same story the two ladies that were right here Monday night
089are telling the same story when everybody's telling the same story in unison there's credibility that to that action that y'all took okay we talk about forty thousand emails going out to parents and nobody complains that's a win okay people up here talking about division in the community I am right-wing Republican I mean I'm way out there I am way out there and I am talking to people that I haven't supported that I fought with for 20 years and we're all in agreement so I see Unison in this group that's created from this scenario you have an Ethics code right there I read it and they talked about trust up here I trust just about everything one of you people I have a lot of trust in you I believe in you some of you've been
090out to my house suited up in Bee suits I know you people you're good people believe in what you have put in place if a kid goes into school he raises his finger like this 10 kids go to the office and they report it don't they and you deal with it if a kid uses a racial innuendo 10 12 kids are in the office reporting it I believe if there is a book in that Library that's inappropriate and the kids find it they're going to collaborate and they're all going to be right down there in that office and they're going to be filling out reports Dr Glenn I know you and your staff are going to deal with it and you're going to do the right thing and I I believe that from the bottom
091of my heart I believe you're going to do the right thing I think you've got your checks and balances you've got that one by default I think you've got your code of ethics and I think most every one of you right here adhered to that code of ethics I really do I think you're good people now they're going to take somebody up here that's following you and he's going to hold this hostage this Bond hostage I heard a man talk about kids in 108 degree temperature riding in buses sweating and it's a health issue that's what we need to be working with we don't need to be working with books that we've already fixed a problem my time's up thank you all thank y'all at after Miss uh Miss Schillinger we will have Matt Westland
092as you just said my name is Sharon sheilander I am a tax paying citizen of the and I'm a I don't have kids in GIS day of course men are too old but I'm here today to talk about a couple of things I've heard during the Monday night meeting and this meeting a couple of things on Miss Moore's report kind of concerned me because I spoke with Dr Harrington outside the city council building a couple of weeks ago and in that discussion she mentioned to me that the pornographic books were interact in a closet now tonight I hear Miss Moore say that there's a Lock storage room so which is it I mean is it a storage room or is it a closet with the porn books in it I think there's a little discrepancy
093there there's two other things that bother me about the discussions that have been going on here I have 20 plus years in data security physical security the security question has come into question from people coming up to here to speak and that and I'm not addressing any physical security because they're very good at what they do I am concerned about data security so several people came up here and just said oh my gosh my my kids personal information the teacher's information and that Karen could have access it or whatever my concern is if those things aren't under lock and key where people can't get to them if they're sitting in a library and not in the office where they should be locked up and anybody in the public could go in the library and possibly
094access those documents then Mr Dr Glenn shame on you what kind of security are you running here there should be nothing available for anybody to be able to access anyone's personal information or any confidential so yeah maybe some people suggested maybe we need to have tea come in here maybe they need to look at some of the security that's going on in this District so that's my concern so many people want to talk about this personal stuff I hope to say that that's not an issue here application when you and I spoke about a book we spoke about a specific title that is required for an AP class and I did tell you that that you did but you also said the books were in a locked closet I thought that book was locked away
095from young people in the library Matt Matt Weston and the next person up will be um Denise Mayberry [Music] good evening board Dr Glenn I just want to hit your uh code ethics and just read through it GISD Board of Trustees as a member of the board I shall promote the best interests of the district as a whole and to that end she'll adhere to the following ethical standards equity and attitude I will be fair just an impartial in all my decisions and actions I will Accord others the respect I wish for myself I will encourage expression of different opinions and listen with an open mind to others ideas trustworthiness and stewardship I will be accountable to the public by representing the district policies programs priorities in progresses accuracy accurately uh I will be responsive
096to the community by seeking its involvement in the district Affairs and by communicating its priorities and concerns I will work to ensure prudent and accountable use of District resources I will make no personal promise to take private action that may compromise my performance or my responsibilities in conduct I will tell the truth I will share My Views while working for consensus I will respect the majority decision as the decision of the board I will base my decisions on fact rather than the subposition opinion or public favor Integrity of character I will refuse to surrender judgment to any individual or group at the expense of the district as a whole I will consistently uphold all applicable laws policies and governance and procedures I will not disclose information that is confidential by law or that will needlessly
097harm the district if disclosed commitment to service I will focus my attention on fulfilling the board's responsibilities of goal setting policy making and evaluation I will diligently prepare for and attend board meetings I will avoid personal involvement in activities the board has delegated to the superintendent I will seek continuing education that will enhance my ability to fulfill my duties effectively student-centered Focus I will be continuously guide by what is best for the students of this District I don't think what you did was best for the students of this District I do think you should resign thank you Mr Wrestling lessons Mayberry who will have [Music] Jody Geller gelker Boyd I am here as a 17-year volunteer for Granbury ISD I started out volunteering at Bacchus Elementary in the mentor reading program was awesome so reading
098is really important I've also went to Granbury High School and the Granbury Middle School I am here to represent tonight the children who are frightened the parents and many of the teachers that are frightened of y'all Miss Laurie [Music] thank you for taking care of the children first Our Father Who Art in Heaven how be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread forgive us our trespasses [Music] yes expectation Deliver Us from Evil for Don is the kingdom the power and the glory forever and ever what we each need to do is examine yourself if you really belong to Christ as every one of y'all up here claim examine your heart and please forget about politics the way the school
099has always been your policies are in place Miss Lowry did not break them we were not friends beforehand actually I was friends and did a Bible study with her opponent she taught us to stand and speak out but she wouldn't do it so we voted for Miss Lowry please take an account search your hearts thank you thank you miss Mayberry gelker and after her will be Elizabeth Boyle um I'm sorry for the lies that I keep hearing but most of all I'm sorry that this isn't about books because the books that Karen and others fought to get out and um are going to be removed on September 1st by the state legislatures but of course the state legislator will not be called book burners radical Christians or hated as much as Karen and the rest
100of the book people have been hated in the last two years the state legislature we has just realized that these books are harmful to the children I am someone who has rescued children for probably 50 years not by choice maybe but by occasion and um listening to these people books matter I deal with children every day who have been sex trafficked sexually abused and young men who are pornographically addicted it starts at seven possibly at 12 and they cannot help we work hard I wore this hat tonight because it's All-American and that's what Karen Lowry and Mark Lowry are too to consider them to be cheaters liars and thieves and I say them because Mars went door to door and knocked on doors for Karen um they have worked hard yes books books and now
101the books are being removed and I personally tell you sincerely if you think a child reads a book and forgets it when we're talking about erections and shall I go into the other graphic details no no let's not but that is what is in the books it's not as these people say about LGBT no no those aren't the books the books are the ones that talk about having sex for the first time [Music] these children are being groomed and you are allowing it I gave you um mock-up millstones earlier because God says one hair on their heads and you might as well put a millstone around your neck and and be tossed in the ocean I'm sorry Karen and Mark Lowry are are the exemplary Americans I would want every child to become Secret Service
102protected Ronald Reagan you've got the wrong people the life thank you thank you boys we will have alarm half full finger [Music] good evening everyone I never thought I'd be standing up here um so would you please move the microphone oh I'm sorry um can you hear me better now okay I'm gonna be mean to everyone what I'm about to tell you is my own personal experience with book Banning and it is hard to talk about so forgive me if I need a few seconds to begin I know a lot of you in this room a lot I worked at the Hood County Library for seven and a half years then during my second summer in 2015 one of our library patrons challenged two books for what they deemed to be inappropriate and they lied
103not only to their friends and church along with other local groups but they also lied to the media which reached national news they have claimed that people call them a book burner well on the form for reconsideration of material forms and policy to those who don't know that's a form that anyone in the community can fill out and you can make suggestions for books or if you're against a book you can put that title down and then there's a list of several questions like why me why did you read this book um you know is there anything good or useful for this book this person commented it would make good kindling then they also claimed it was openly displayed when they walked in this is the spark that led to the outcry over books featuring
104various characters some of those with Lifestyles that certain people don't agree with and I'm sorry but lgbtq Plus is part of the books that were trying to be banned this person then ran for school board and then as devastating as it was they were elected then Karen where everyone by running a negative campaign and allegedly threatening lies about our schools and her opponent since before she even started her term she has been running around accusing our Librarians of Distributing porn the books that they have labeled as porn are books about people of different race religion and of course any books that feature an lgbtq plus community and I'm sorry that we exist I'm sorry that that happens um but you do not get to tell someone who they are that's not up to you Mrs
105Lowry's actions of breaking into the high school library they've irreparably ruined her career and I believe she should step down thank you pull it up a little more there you go thank you I'm here in support of Karen Lowry who is overwhelmingly chosen by voters to be Granbury ISD trustee she is fulfilling her campaign promises to look out for the best entrance of parents and students caring has asked thoughtful questions before voting on this board as a taxpayer I appreciate that Karen wants our students to have the best possible curriculum and books to read Karen took the time and initiative to actually visit a school she went she I've when I heard the lawyer speak she was speaking about the lady that came in she did not speak about Karen the same where she was
106going the lady that so that's what the lawyer said I'm just saying and she did check in and um you know if she was supposed to be assigned someone she should have been assigned someone when she checked in um she was allowed to enter she went into the library to look at books not surprising since she was chosen to be a teen on it she was chosen to be on a team looking at library materials Fort Worth ISD recently closed their libraries to rid them of elicit y'all been talking about pornography but it's about illicit is the proper term and age inappropriate materials why can't we have transparency like this in the Granbury ISD what are you afraid Karen will find once again I stand here asking you to work together instead of attacking board
107members maybe this board should be more open to what new members have to contribute instead of protecting the status quo with a large at-risk student population perhaps taking a fresh look would help problem solve some District issues time spent on a board member and it's not the first time is time lost on solving real problems issues like why we can't fix school buses air conditioning problems and children must roll down bus windows in triple digit Heat knowing how much you want to censure Karen please criticize this act of retaliation and think of the consequences of your actions remember voters overwhelmingly voted in Karen Lowry as a member of the strategic planning committee I would caution you about how to about a yes vote thank you ma'am thank you very much they lack confidence in the
108board could you instruct him again if you are speaking to your neighbors and interrupting those that are sitting nearby that you can that they cannot hear would you please uh try to refine from that so that everybody can hear everyone that speaks and I failed to mention that when they charity [Music] Jihadi would be the next speaker and so he needs to come forward and Patty Cisco will be after him Renee chahardi thank you okay we'll move right along to uh Patty Cisco and after her Jim Jarrett will speak you may have to pull the mic down a little bit thank you thank you for letting me talk tonight as a GISD parent I thank you for allowing me to speak this evening on this important issue Miss Lowry I have attended or watched GISD
109school board meetings for well over a year and have also volunteered in various capacities I'm appalled at the persistent obstructionism and promotion of personal political agendas by school board members who should be making decisions that promote the vision of Granbury ISD not tear it down Miss Laura you've made it clear that your personal campaign is to purge GISD of inappropriate books to the point that you felt it necessary to enter the High School Library without prior authorization and scan the books there in the dark your credibility is ruined it would be best if you resigned if you do not consider this before I retired I was a public school counselor for 27 years here are most of the concerns that the hundreds if not thousands of students brought to my office throughout the years they
110talked about fitting in or not fitting in about being bullied they talked about how to navigate new romantic relationships they talked about fear of academic failure and the ubiquitous STAAR test they talked about how they might succeed in the future and whether they could afford to go to college they talked about fear for their safety they talked about their relationships with the adults in their lives and how they could better communicate some worried about where the next meal would come from or the new pair of shoes that they desperately needed I still remember with Stark Clarity the faces of the families who came to enroll at my school after Hurricane Katrina with nothing but the clothes on their backs not once did a parent a student or a teacher approach me with concerns about an
111inappropriate book in the school library or classroom not in 27 years Lara you stated that you will continue to protect the hearts and minds of our children while I listen to the hearts and minds of hundreds of children for 27 years and I continue to do so at home with my children and grandchildren as all parents should do to you and all of you who continue to beat this dead horse to smitherees I have this advice stop listening to the sound of your own voice and listen to the kids after Jim Jarrett will be Mary Lowe president Harrison uh will you will you pull it up to you grab it down at the the joint [Music] okay give me my time back I'm not a mechanical engineer here this is great Dr Harrington board and
112uh Dr Glenn thank you thank you for your time appreciate that sir I wanted to uh come and say the individuals that are looking for this uh Department of Education investigation and the tea investigation how can I help because this definitely needs a outside investigation when the attorney introduces herself as your attorney now yours minus two I would think I want to talk about the uh Behavior so don't get confused when I start reaching harassment I'm talking about the harassment definitions and what I see going on in here harassment is defined by the U.S government Texas government and by your own policies Federal definition harassment becomes unglathful or move on and during the offense of conduct becomes a condition of continued employment two the conduct is Progressive enough to create a work environment that a
113reasonable person would consider intimidating hostile or abusive under Texas law criminal harassment occurs when the person commits an act route to know a torment Embrace abuse our alarm or harass another person the GISD rules were the federal and state definitions under these GISD rules the section entitled discrimination harassment and retaliation says employees shall not engage in prohibited harassment of other persons including board members vendors contractors volunteers or parents the GISD rules then Define prohibited harassment as conduct source of severe persistent or pervasive that the conduct has the purpose of a artifact of unreasonably interfering with the employee's work performance creates an intimidating threatening hostile or offensive work environment or otherwise adversely affects the employee's employee employment opportunities now he says that you uh review your behaviors the behaviors of the board see how they fit
114here that's my understanding that the efforts that muslao is charged with you don't know the authority to fire her so maybe the special meeting is just a continuation of these unacceptable behaviors thank you thank you thank you very low enough after Mary Lou will be Dennis non-modern router Karen Lowry thank you for being such a woman of great spine I pray that you will continue in your duration of political harassment do not resign there's a penal code 43.24 there is a felony law that says you cannot put pornographic material before children we're not talking about pornography in the schools there is over 2 400 books published via folate which you all contract with it is right and reasonable that you would want to purge your District of a book that is teaching sex which bypasses
115the shock code of the Texas Education Agency don't you flinch members of this board the thought that you would Center based on a paid person with the name attorney to present facts that she cannot disclose how those facts were arrived at or who prepared that report is preposterous this is a Witch Hunt and it's disgusting and let me say this I don't live here it's on my cities of where to retire no more the board members that have tolerated without this kind of charade fiscal irresponsibility or a liability to your community and it detracts from children being educated and it is largely responsible for your scores you're ranked in the state and Title One those of you who think that tasby is a law you're mistaken it is a political entity that enforces an elected
116body to undermine the constitutional republic that allows each and every one of you to be free and if you don't like your freedom then you vote to censor someone who was duly elected ma'am this year you and Kim Paxton are two of a kind stay with it babe after Mr I'm not model ruler here Charles do you pronounce it for me and we'll hear Mr beard after you sir it's maunder thank you Saunders maunder okay well thank you I I would speak from the standpoint of my business career I was a an auditor with two large International CPA firms conducted audits of publicly traded companies smaller public companies and an important point of those is we were hired by the board who represent stockholders the board's fiduciarity fiduciary duty was to the stockholders the Board
117of Trustees here I believe your fiduciary duty is to the people that elected you part of the jobs that I had including as a an elected board member was to ensure that the interests of the shareholders in your case the public are are protected that policies and procedures that the board implements are implemented properly and oftentimes that means you have to see it for yourself you have to dig you have to do things that are perhaps not typical and to that respect I think that Mrs Lowry's actions were appropriate to find out for herself whether your policies with respect to these books are being followed by the team that that's employed here in the district so with that said please review your policies and open it up so that individuals on this board can see
118for themselves routinely whether or not your policies and procedures are being implemented by the management by the superintendent within the district and in conclusion thank you Mrs Lowry after Mr Baird we will hear goddess O'Brien good evening my name is Charles bearded I went to First State I mean no disrespect toward anyone in this room by not removing my glasses I keep them on due to injuries received in combat though I am a GSD employee my statement does not reflect or against anything I am in no means acting as an employee in gsdma statement I believe in the facts and I believe in looking in both perspectives first I'm going to assume that all the facts against Miss Laurie are true let's talk about the elephant in the room and asking how a private video
119inside our school is released so quickly to the public on social media aren't we assured we respect our staff privacy by not tarnishing ourselves employees live Hood before facts are in I do not know you cannot I do know you cannot access any records without a proper security level of access this is also a need a general basis all passwords originated by individuals are incorporated or tracked by a security manager to be time stamped and accessed information recorded for legal purposes why has not passed or current board trustees demanded this stamped evidence to be report to be provided to inability of accessing claimed information then maybe people could put down their mocking spirit and take up the cross I was truly concerned for their intense emotional performance last night intentional or not it is not
120a violation of issuing videos a placing our children or present in schools the school district is required to investigate the violation and take discipline the video released is why we are receiving national attention period then I look at the other side and I look at it as clear deceitful cover-up to provide numerous security violations false information asseminated to parents in an attempt to hide the unethical standards one key website is a Texas Education Agency which has a phone number for questions this agency assures our education systems professionally teaching our children academics what I also found is they investigate corrupt Boards of Trustees if this is going on and the board is corrupt they come in and clean house then we won't have to come to these Board of trustee meetings as there will be no
121longer an individual school district there are truly school districts already are no longer open I try to find humor in things so here it is in the movie Hocus Pocus wasn't there three individuals who basically eat children to make themselves more principal presentable representing individuals sharing their popularity while preventing the parents from protecting them while removing Mass to find key people for their agendas true or not still hilarious we need to believe and raise our we need to believe and raise our Christian flag just as much as our state International what are our true value levels and how far to the left are we going to go I'll look into this audience and I'm shocked I can't believe it's the far left it's going we are people here and we need to respect each other
122and I am just appalled to the fact that if we call ourselves conservative Christians why are we even remotely remotely changing from what God has asked us to do thank you sir Gladys O'Brien was big next and after her uh Mark Lowry will speak yes good evening board I was scheduled to speak Monday evening and I had to leave before the second round of speakers and I apologize for that but I'm here tonight anyways I'm here to support Karen in my opinion she's doing what she said she would do if she were elected to the school board she and others are trying to identify age appropriate literature and put it in the proper school she signed in at the high school front desk showed her identification and went to the library apparently she should have
123visited with the principal before entering the library and because of that she's being charged I think but now I know listening to everyone with trespass and that's what she's being censored over um from reading the Hood County News over the past couple of years I've learned that things like Mr Dawson along with Mrs Dawson using the school airplane for personal use were they censored you may not speak about folks who speak to this Lowry's uh issue that's about censoring Miss Laurie and it seems to be okay there seems to be there's a double standard and it seems to me that perhaps there's an agenda within the school board that we can censor the school board member but we don't censor other people who violate school policy as well it doesn't seem that the rules apply
124evenly across the board we know the answer the people I were going to mention were not censored so my question is why not thank you they backed us up together members of the board and listening public my name is Mark Lowry Mr alley Jerry Daughtry will be next go ahead you mind giving me my time back yes you will I've got to rush you yes absolutely and I apologize you will get your time back I just I'm trying to facilitate within the song when my wife won the trustee election last Fall by a resounding majority of the votes I made a commitment to not speaking public board meetings out of respect to her and her position answer to some of these other folks that say she's just focused on books she attended I believe all
125the Strategic meetings and I know she along with my Council has offered Chief Wade Clark information on how to better secure this facility I would hope he would confirm my conversation there this reminds me of June of 2022 trustee Lowry my wife has done nothing wrong policy BBE board members Authority and business to District facilities clearly allows a visit as Karen did you can examine the boards in the back but it did not matter to president Harrington and superintendent Glenn saw an opportunity to take down a trustee in an effort to grab power regardless of most important the most important vote this school district has faced in a number of years including an important teachers raise they chose to kick over Hornet's Nest to gain power they know Karen is a threat to their power
126even though she is a minority let me speak directly about the so-called investigation I'm a retired criminal investigator 1811 series for the federal government I know a little bit about them Madam president this avert event occurred on August 2nd approximately 9 20 a.m within two hours this authorized visit by Karen was on the killer whale private information was leaked almost immediately about a parent of this school district which is an Ethics violation and should be investigated and she is a parent regardless of what you have said on August 3rd at 10 o'clock AM Harrington sends an email to all board members proclaiming Karen's guilt all of them at 1004 on August 3rd president Harrington sends a Karen Karen Sims Karen an email with a cc to superintendent Glenn again the nature of the email is
127accusatory of guilt she has not been invited invited Karen to come in for a formal interview there was no formal interview 32 hours later and emailed to Karen titled results of Investigation of your honor authorized unauthorized president in library again president Harrington again makes accusations and determinations of guilt and has her personal opinion to this investigation still no Crest request for a former interview investigators do not put personal interviews in in every case information from Harrington emails is almost immediate released into the committee inheritance continues to expose the name of a parent do what you will you will with Karen and censor her she will make wake up tomorrow with a proud and loving husband a clean conscience and invigorated Spirit to pursue the goal of protecting the hearts and minds of children God bless
128your souls uh daddy we will have Mary Carden or Carden Lord I come to talk to you about a very inconvenient topic for y'all and that happens to be your own board policy BBE which sets forth what it requires is required of a board member to visit a school or a facility that particular policy is based upon a state policy that mandates that you have such a policy and what it says is that the board member will adhere to any posted requirements and in entering a school facility now there's some more to that but it has to do when when school is in session and that was not the case on August the 2nd we've heard a lot here tonight about uh things that uh the superintendent would prefer and that people out here would
129like to have happen unfortunately even your standard operating procedures which you have adopted cannot supersede what policy calls for if they do you don't have a policy you have a list of wishes and that's not what's here Karen the minute that she did what the sign on the door said for her to do had had satisfied the policy and that I went to check the door and all it says at at the door is that they need to check in at the main office that's all it says having done that she was legitimate in being there in any effort to insinuate otherwise is is not appropriate I want to mention just a little bit about this investigation that we hired it seems every time this board fouls up on something the public gets to pay
130for a lawyer to come and try to find a way to have y'all weasel out of what you fouled up on 335 dollars an hour and nobody said how many hours that they took but in this particular case I want you to know that I did my own personal investigation and it took me about 45 minutes which included the time it took me to drive from home to get to the school to read what was on the door so the last thing I want to touch on here is the fact that I know that you can censure her for what she did but you are beyond your policy when you do that I know that the vote is already there because at least one board member has already told her even before she heard what
131the attorney had to say that I'm not going to vote for you now so the the the the deed is done as far as that's concerned but you will be setting a very bad precedent that will affect all future board members and for that reason your actions to censor her cannot stand and it will not be allowed to stand and we've already heard about people talking about investigations the next people you're going to hear from knocking on your door is going to be tea and you don't want the probe that they're going to give you as far as what all other actions Mary will be the next speaker after Mary [Music] Dr Glenn award members thank you my name is Mary Cardin I'm speaking as a mother of a child that graduated from Granbury High
132School a citizen a taxpayer but probably more than any of that I am a pastor in this community and I stand with the Hood County Pastor Council and I think I first want to say I wish we could be honest enough to say what we're talking about is not the real issue this issue is about a clash of moral core values and it's going on all over this nation and we are not a small little group I don't even consider politics in this to me it's a matter of good versus evil and I will stand for what is right and I do care about children and I guess if being concerned about books is hysterical or obsessed call me obsessed but as a pastor I get to listen to people addicted to pornography I get
133to listen to marriages torn up by it families damaged by it and yes even children who are addicted it is wrong to have sexually explicit books elicit whatever you want to call them they're not age appropriate and I'll stand with Karen Lowry and do whatever I have to do for as long as I have to do it to know that I can stand before God with a generation coming up that won't have to be permanently touched by something it's wrong call me obsessed it pornography is wrong I want to also quickly speak to what I feel is a lack of relational Integrity when someone why can't you as a board sit down and talk about this this thing was being judged in our nation it's innocent until proven guilty and yet this thing was judged
134on social media it was disgusting all of the comments half didn't know what they were talking about and I'm not going to say which half or anything it's just it just didn't need to happen why was this on social media why was this not handled first with relational integrity finally I want to say and I will say this before God if you censor Karen Lowry it will not bear good fruit hear me Karen Lowry don't you dare he's on after after Allison room where we'll have Jim Brown ladies and gentlemen of the board Madam president Dr Glenn my name is Allison Southern Olam I live in Granbury I have two boys in Granbury and I'm here because I'm a very concerned parent Romans 13 1-2 states obey government for God is the one who put
135it there there is no government anywhere that has not been placed in power by God so those who refuse to obey the law of the land are refusing to obey God Miss Lowry's actions demonstrated disregard for the legal and moral principles that govern our society it is essential for individuals in position of power to uphold the law this behavior is required by God hearing statements made money Monday I suppose some might consider me a Christian in name only however true Christianity is not just about knowing scripture but also by living its teachings it is about embodying the values of love compassion and justice the question is what would Jesus do I've put much thought into making sure that my words and actions reflect the spirit of that question not just tonight but always I don't
136want porn in the library I don't think anybody here wants porn in the library this is not about porn in the library it is about following the rules I do not understand why Miss Lowry didn't follow a simple policy she has stated she did follow policy however in the video I saw lights come on then watched as they return off it seems that there may be some confusion or conflicting information regarding Miss Lowry's actions and adherence to policy it would be helpful to have a clear explanation from her as to why she didn't turn on the lights initially and why they were turned off after being switched on because she has not given that explanation the only conclusion that can be drawn is that she broke the rules and potentially broke the law my children
137and the children of this community are watching our Behavior it is crucial for us to set a positive example for our children and show them that respect for others is a fundamental value in this community some of the Behavior I've witness lately is unacceptable they must also witness accountability and integrity in their Community leaders these things set a precedent for their behavior the lack of explanation from Miss Lowry only reinforces the notion that rules and laws can be disregarded without consequence if we allow Miss Lowry's disregard for the rules and laws to go unpunished we are sending a message to our children that this is acceptable thank you for your time Jim Brown will be next followed by his wife Monica Brown give me three minutes in tonight my name is Jim Brown I live
138in Granbury I am still honored and blessed to be the husband of Monica Brown so far we are only hearing one side I had this nice three-page thing and when I sat here I thought this is a bunch of assumptions still we have lawyers coming up here all of it is still one-sided stop I would like to ask to hear Karen's side we haven't really heard her side we've been dictated as to what the assumptions are made about her side or about what is supposed to have happened there are many assumptions being listed as facts Karen's character has been slandered repeatedly we are assuming she had ill intent what was Karen's intent based on social media outcries for two years I have said and listened repeatedly to heated discussions over sexually explicit explicit books Karen
139asked to go to the library she was told yes to go she signed in and now we're getting tied up in the details of what's happening however it has been made clear in this board that the current board per newspaper articles written is absolutely five against two if I was a two I think it might be a little bit wondering of am I getting bullied it seems that we need to hear Karen's side of this what was Karen's intent what was her intent yet you haven't asked you just assumed she was viciously on a mission I can do this I have an assumption that I would like to make but based on what I've heard tonight the assumptions being made are pure facts so the fact is Karen had pure intent to figure out what
140she was voted for by the voting public and you board have not listened to an intent or you have assumed and you have gone after an individual within your own family thank you Miss Brown will be the next speaker and after her we'll be Sharon Westland thank you um Jim it's a privilege where'd you go right over there 33 years I'm very proud of that because in my family there was a lot of divorce it's quite an accomplishment I'm proud of that and blessed but I assume is the word I was thinking I mean I was taught when I was young you really shouldn't assume because you know what that does right and when the attorney was up here she used that word many times and that person who answered the phone who was at
141the door when Karen got there you're assuming based on her you're assuming this attorney is quoting that assistant principal vice principal correctly now we forget when someone quotes well means I really appreciate that that's why we're here to obey the governors directives got three pages of it can it handed to me on the committee I was asked to be on for library books fraudulent committee documented in Hood County News 100 books but back in two meetings Educators who violated the Educators code of ethics by putting those books back in even though Mike Beauchamp is one of them he stood up and said he's not one of them in a negative sense but he said hey I'm reading this out loud to you that's sexually explicit and they said it's okay I don't have a problem
142and none of them got a slap on the hand not one of them after that second meeting I called Dr Glenn and talked to him for an hour or he called me whichever I begged him hey this is a moral dilemma why would I be here why would I be here two years later why would Karen get elected why does she want to be here why is Paula McDonald not in that chair I would have voted for her and I won't vote for Courtney again not based on Educators code of ethics I'm excited to see the two new ones come in in the fall it's a full intent for people to flip this board over this book debacle code of ethics are being violated ehaa is being violated your Shack committee rules are being violated
143any resource you have that has any sexuality in it that isn't approved by Shaq and doesn't support your Shack goals which is quite clear in your ehaa policy needs to go for the benefit mental health of the children I don't care where they get this elsewhere they shouldn't be getting it in your seat pay for buyer tax dollars so if you're a parent in any school district in Texas go to your go look up your city Granbury or Keller or Boyd or whatever look up ISD look up school board look at policy read e-h-a-a read EFA in Granbury you got an efb also go to Google and look at the Texas Educators code of ethics and you'll see they've been violated left and right in this city in this town and I'm sorry I expected
144a lot more out of Granbury and I hope it gets there and there's a group of us coming to make that happen we want the better values quite a few people tonight spoke from California they're here they moved here and they thought it was going to be better than it was and they don't want it to go like it went there [Music] should we Sharee wrestling will be the next speaker and after her will be Janine McGregor [Music] Madam president Dr Glenn trustees and Miss Lowry who I will abstain from calling to trustee anymore GISD policy BBE and gkc states that you must follow procedures like anyone else so for instance when I check in to Acton Elementary for my schools I have to designate where I am going and my name tags clearly states
145it as a prior public servant myself no Community member elected official or unauthorized staff has access to most areas for liability their protection and the citizens it reminds me of someone going through my medicine cabinet while using the restroom at my house a clear violation of ethics the following are rhetorical statements I don't expect you to respond Lowry stated in her statement that she had to abstain obtain counsel whereas July 19th meeting was before the incident on August 2nd and you had counsel Lowry also stated that she made she checked in and made an appointment Oxford dictionary States an appointment is an arrangement to meet someone at a particular time and place and no such appointment was made during the secretly recorded conversation you were told you had to make an appointment and you used
146a charity event as a ruse disgusting it reminds me of a snake in a garden the staff thank you for coming to help with operation school supplies and you failed to correct her of your intentions why did you bring a buddy and her badge said cafeteria once again no correction what has been done about her why did you enter the library door furthest from the entrance of the school perhaps it was because the first door was locked to prevent unauthorized persons clue one you were not authorized or were you hiding your Snoop Fest what are you doing stealing planting evidence going through the students records or the librarian's desk all of the above why did you keep the lights off as any ethical person would have simply turned on the lights especially if you were
147granted permission or presumed consent it reminds me of my kids sneaking in the dark for a cookie yes you were allowed in the kitchen but not for the cookie I have been made aware of a book that's in the library that the kitty committee must have looked missed it speaks of depression homosexuality sodomy sexual impurity bestiality suicide murder adultery racism rape cuss words and death it's the Lord's word NIV I assure you that the cell phones in our students hands have been are being used as a resource long before our school library for Dangerous books I have read a statement I have read the statement about the Tea board ethics which you have not upheld many of them addition and I have filed a complaint upon your egregious disregard additionally I filed a complaint to
148the Department of Education concerning FERPA as all Student Records thank you thank you very much we'll speak next and after her will be Greg Harrell Janine McGregor Miss Mack I was highly trained as a researcher and analyst before I was trained as a teacher I first met Karen Lowry member of the GISD book committee at a meeting with other community leaders I was asked to review a book because of my background as a researcher for the State Board of Education in the Texas Senate education committee Miss Lowry expressed concern that the books in question were given only quick glancing reviews some put in the yes post some put in the note pile what would happen if reviews were extensive at random I picked a book it was an awards book I immediately surmised that it
149was one of quality that was deceiving and that is why people are upset about these books here's the review Gone Gone published by the children's publishing section of Simon Schuster called Simon plus 281 work pages a story about the sexual relationship between two high school boys here's the breakdown to those who want quality education there was no Advanced vocabulary no SAT prep words the readability test put it at the fourth grade level fourth grade reading level in the high school library to the people who prefer decent language the F or the fu word was used 118 times 47 percent of the pages the cuss words like s word s word b word a word J word d word and b word there are other words 74 times 29 of the pages to the people who
150are Christians this author used the name of God Jesus Christ mother of God it's an expletive 62 times 25 of the pages to parents teachers therapists and principals your profession in value is denigrated multiple times to animal lovers the love scenes were in the basement bedroom where 14 animals were included and confined the occult oral sex and someone's genitalia size were mentioned only once but suicide is the solution was mentioned multiple times a recent concern of this community to the people who resent being told what not to read remember the American Library Association and American Association of school libraries 7 000 strong recommended this book they are telling your children what to read I apologize to those who have gay friends children or family members I could not figure out the illogical part of a
151subplot until I went after my report to an individual who could explain that to me and that was a wake-up call that part of the book was a subtle introduction introduction for our youth to enter into the pedophilia ring within the gay community if you want a summary of this review I have them available my you was extensive so when I asked for copies of the other Reviews of This Book by the GISD Personnel I only received a quick glance overview checklist taking five months after my submission to Dr Glenn I apologize to the audience if I sound angry I get that way when children are abused thank you for your time and consideration after Mr Harrell speaks we will take a brief bathroom break that has been requested from the from the podium so
152yeah yeah that's good well that won't keep us any longer than we need to then um trustees Dr Glenn thank you for allowing me to speak tonight before we get to the actual issue at hand I just want to really put things back into context in regards to Mrs Lowry trustee Lowry and as I stated on Monday night one of the things that concerns me about about all of this that's taking place is the fact that Miss trustee Lowry when she was elected and placed on this board immediately you guys began to take actions that would that would serve to really uh minimize her role on this board in other words you uh modified your standard operating procedures so that if your proposal was to take three trustees in order to place an idol on
153the agenda instead of the former one you finally got it back to two and that was that was appropriate and thank you for that however and then you separated the two conservative members of the board right here on each end of the dice I mean I think that it's very obvious that there has been special treatment for the conservative members of this board and that really serves to put in context how you guys all as a board have interacted so keeping that in mind let's get to the matter at hand and that is the allegations against Mrs Lowry my observation since I have attended Faithfully your board meetings is that Mrs Lowry comes to these meetings well prepared she asked excellent questions she does her job and and she is an excellent representative for the
154people that of this community that voted for her now to the specific allegations against Miss Lowry I wrote you a letter uh president Harrington about these allegations and these are the rules that are taken from the Tasman School law eSource page entitled roles and responsibilities of individual school board members in the event of board members actions deliberately violate local policy or board operating procedures the rest of the board may consider addressing the concerns by taking the following steps item number one is a private conversation between the offending member and the board president or other appropriate individual president Harrington when you emailed Mrs Lowry concerning your concerns according to the attorney you included the word sneaky at that point I think you have lost all credibility in regards to being able to follow these steps and
155interact you know in a good dialogue with Mrs Lowry at that point if I was Mrs Lowry I would completely do what she did she probably shut down the communication the word sneaky is an allegation and you can't get beyond that so therefore I think that Mrs Lowry's actions are certainly understandable your desire to say to her is misguided thank you foreign just to correct a couple of things Mr Hill said I quoted then we'll be in recess for 10 minutes but the time is eight 33. sorry this is now over let me say this you have done a good job of keeping Sybil and respecting each of these speakers I want to compliment you on that and encourage you to continue to uh keep to that same high level of decorum and respect each
156of these speakers and the board members when they speak moving to the next Steve Biggers will be the next speaker and after him will be Beverly Cheney Steve Biggers yeah there we go hey good evening board thank you so very much first thing I want to stay trustee Lowry Mr bigger biggest will you pulled the mic down just slightly yeah we don't have a volume problem yeah so let's start over Okay very good first I'm going to say trustee Lowry you stand you have an armor you are a child of God you stand you do not comply with these harassing haters because they didn't vote for you in the first place you Dethrone their beloved trustee and they don't like it I'm going to address a couple different things first we're going to look at
157the logic of it the logic you all are elected CEOs of the school board Jim Jarrett is the CEO of the city Ron massaging Hills the CEO in the county they can go anywhere they want this ludicrous policy that you have to be escorted and I'm sure all of you at one time or another have walked through that building without an escort without letting somebody know you're 20 years you're going to tell me you haven't done that ma'am that you have not walked through this building those buildings so here's the deal we can end all this the next eight months there's still the controversy books and books and books let's end all this each one of you pick a Saturday no students you open the libraries to the public from 10 to 3 and they
158come in and they go through it you pick the Saturday you can be there they're wide open what are you hiding that's my problem if you fight this hard to keep people out what are you hiding so now I'm going to commit this with a little bit of a moral standpoint and I'm not going to take scripture out of context like a couple of these other people have that's ignorance okay you all prayed you all profess on your Facebook and your social media is that your followers your Christians followers of Christ when they have a theme Through the Bible all the way through that you can follow especially in the New Testament over and over and over again you defy that then there's replications from that so here's the deal if anyone should come after
159me deny themselves and I'll take up their cross and follow me multiple times and if you don't Jesus will deny you you please please how can you lay your head on your bed at night and smile at your church members eyes and say hello and go through this nonsense you're an eagle scout moral compass holy cow so Dr Harrington there's one one particular thing I want to bring up with you Matthew 23 please go read that talks about Pharisees please please go read that and Dr Glenn I throw this to your feet because we didn't have these major problems the last time and your repentance moment was when your son was saved that was your repentive moment and when you refused Joshua 25 15. but if you refuse to serve the Lord then choose today
160what God used to choose to do and I I can't believe I would agree with Chris Tackett Dr Jeremy Glenn should be should do the honorable thing and resign from Israel following through the board should exercise their authority to remove him that's your feet sir Beverly treaty after Beverly will be uh Ian Galway hi y'all thanks a lot for having us all here to speak tonight and before we go any further I know there are a lot of teachers watching so I just want to tell them and let them know how much they are appreciated because with all this controversy and all this going on they've still been showing up every day they've been loving on our kids and welcoming our kids and I can't tell them enough how much that's appreciated full to closure
161in full disclosure I was going to get up and pontificate about things like following rules accountability and even give my opinion about whether or not the book situation was taken care of but then I realized there was nothing I could do to change anybody's mind I'm not a professional who conducted a investigation I've not even heard Miss Lowry's statement other than what I read or any reason for what she did those both should carry more weight than with all of y'all in my opinion but I will address two things first to miss Lowry as a person who has failed me I have failed in my life I have made mistakes I found that when I justify or try to excuse those mistakes I only serve to amplify the mistake I believe this board in this
162community shows and knows Grace I believe that with all my heart perhaps an oops I'm sorry or I didn't understand or I made a mistake I probably promise I will try not to do it again any of those at the beginning of this might have stopped the circus perhaps not but at this point we'll never know now to the board as a whole and to the community this incident has stolen some valuable time from our students and their families I've missed seeing first day pictures on Facebook because it's been flooded with this and it's chatting happily with parents about how excited they are about new teachers or new classrooms it's my hope that after tonight whatever the outcome the school district and the community can go back to doing what they do best the board
163can go back to cheering on the students and the staff I see you all out there I see you cheering them on at events and occasions teachers can relax they can go back and do the jobs that they love to do citizens can start to read about the amazing things at GISD advocates for the bond can get busy educating the public about what the bond has to offer most of us choose to live in Granbury for wonderful reasons controversy division discourse are not some of those reasons I'm ready to make this my home again the way I thought it was going to be let's all use our hearts to take back what has been missing in public forms for so long thank you afternoon will be Paula McDonald good evening board I'm Marcy Galley and
164I'm here tonight to support trustee Lowry I just want to tell you please to keep doing what you're doing protecting the children because the pornography that has been allowed in school libraries is has gone against the very penal code that is in your own policies that should not have ever seen the inside of a school district period ehaa is is Paramount in that Barbara Harrington and Jeremy Glenn I I have to just say shame on both of you I'm very disappointed that this entire ordeal was put on social media first then you have a special meeting instead of putting this in closed session or as the other gentleman said having a conversation to determine if something was really done with bad intent and it was not the flashlight the whether whether or not the lights
165were on the flashlight none of that matters all of you are elected by taxpayers all of you should have access anywhere in the school districts at any time I agree with the other gentleman that said go ahead and open up all of your libraries on a Saturday have the entire Community come in and look and see what's in there you shouldn't be hiding it [Music] I asked for a copy of the resolution the resolution to Center and I was denied a copy if it was not available to this board prior to the start of this meeting at least 72 hours prior to the start of this meeting none of you should take action on it none of you I cannot believe a title one district is paying an Austin attorney 350 an hour plus plane
166fare plus per diem are you going to share that out on social media when you get that big fat tab from Walsh and Gallegos I can't even believe a school district in conservative Hood County uses walshing Gallegos from Austin foreign was mentioned [Music] this is on the book Review Committee this is obviously a huge deal if y'all have the book or had the book Gone Gone in your library that is absolutely appalling I commend Miss Lowry again for supporting that for supporting This Witch Hunt in open court shame on you and good good job Miss Lowry keep up the good work [Music] for coming over from Willow Park to support Miss Lowry [Music] Mr McDonald if the audience will refrain from speaking submission Mr McDonald will have her turn I have three main points Karen
167in your statement on Monday you said I want a decisive Victory so I know the parents of this District feel the same way I do if that were the case then what where are all the voters and the 8 000 plus parents who represent this District regarding challenging the books through the district challenge book procedure well not one of them in the past year has filed a book challenge not one if not one voter or parent has challenged a book why do you take it upon yourself to conduct your own clandestine investigation number two during your campaign and on this very dice you told the entire community that you did not file a criminal complaint on two of our GISD employees when in fact on the secret audio recording recently obtained you in fact admit
168that indeed you did file the report I have a copy right here it appears that you have a habitual problem with telling the truth you lied about filing the report to cover yourself during the election and you continued the charade until you were behind closed doors and finally admitting the LIE funny how the audio tape you and Melanie thought you would secretly record is now providing us with your own admission that you are indeed did have these GISD employees complaint are criminally charged thank you for this clarification and as it stands this criminal investigation is still open so miss Lowry because the investigation that you and Monica Brown instigated is still open why did you feel the need to conduct your own investigation and again in the dark for an hour and 20 minutes wouldn't
169that constitute an obstruction of justice into your own open case 0.3 every parent in this District needs to be aware because these two women were in the dark for the amount of time where School computers files and documents are we do have rights under the family education rights and Privacy Act known as FERPA the school district must now take action and alert every parent in this District of a potential and possible data breach you don't think that can happen city of Granbury computer network hacked just this week District's got to do what they've got to do now and it's simply no way to determine what you guys were doing for an hour and 20 minutes in the dark it is evident by your actions that you are not here for the children of GISD you
170are here for your own agenda and as you publicly stated on your social media on Monday that you were forced to hire your own personal attorney for the safety of every GISD student thank you will be the next speaker and after her Dave eagle you couldn't hear oh are you Miss hell thank you I I apologize I'm good evening thank you for letting me speak um I've talked before about the liability associated with piloting a plane up here and during that during that time I explained my I explained my bonafides I'm sorry can you please be quiet I told you I'd been an investigator of larger exposure accidents that I have a history of being involved in Risk Management my employment history and and when I say large exposure I am talking cases in the
171millions if not billions of dollars no investigation would be conducted the way that you haven't conducted it none zero absolutely none if I had presented the material that you presented tonight to an attorney to one of my attorneys or one of the the company's attorneys they would have laughed at me and told me bring me back the real stuff this was hearsay this was not a relative event investigation you can't give your attorney your investigation and expect for it to be impartial or believed by the general public the second thing I will tell you is that never in my career did I ever try my case in the media whether it was the news stations or the social media which didn't exist back then that should have never happened and a firm a person before
172me mentioned that the attorney was used the word assumed and let's look at that is that system called the rafter system where you check in at the desk where they scan your ID and in that system they also put down where you're going to go [Music] the attorney said that whoever checked them in assumed that the visitor not trustee Lowry was going to the cafeteria [Music] trustee Lowry did not get scant into the system because it's not part of your protocol when the person checking her in checked her in as a as going as thanked her for her go for her being involved in the school project she assumed and the attorney used that word there again that she was there to go to the school supply project distribution point a lot of assumptions don't
173make things fact I would hope that you would stop this you would reconsider your decision and I don't think I can just stand thank you we will have Harold I gotta get some granny I bet it's Granny Herald Granite right thank you one comment about the lawyer Joey Moore not one thing not one thing that she say will be admissible in evidence and Court not one not one she never talked to Ms Lowry she never talked to Miss uh Reeves the other person that was involved she was not subject all the people that testified were not subject to cross-examination not one of those statements will be admitted in court uh but jump into the the real deal here y'all have a heck of a way of bringing people together in this in this County I'm
174telling you uh I want to talk about censure it means nothing it has no legal effect it doesn't mean a thing except it's a political hit job now y'all are going to go over here and I can tell by the your Democrat audience primarily that you're going to go ahead and censure you're going to vote five to two and it means nothing but I'll tell you what is coming you're setting yourself up for a perfect storm a perfect storm on November the 7th you have somebody running against one of your commission one of your uh Commissioners sorry one of your trustees and you've got a seat that's going to be vacated and there's two there's people running for those two seats that could flip this board that's one thing the second thing is you're you're
175doing everything you can do to screw up your bond I can't understand why you're alienating at least half of your audience with this idiotic Witch Hunt you got you stand to lose on the bond on November 7th you stand to lose on your elevated tax rate that you got to take to the voters that you claim is a lower tax but it says right on there this is raising your taxes people aren't stupid you've got a perfect storm coming and I hope it hits hard thank you the next uh speaker after this will be Aaron James [Music] thank you would you pronounce your name for me so I can Dr Harold granick I really get to speak after uh commissioner eagle uh Ms Lowry you've besmirched the uh GISD reputation the cranberry and Hood County
176again uh but that's not a violation of anything but it is seen in WFAA Dallas Morning News uh start telegram uh more to the point on the next door Community website you said you wanted to support the moral rectitude of the students I'll paraphrase the moral rectitude of the students but I don't find that the example we want to set for the students is that it's okay to violate your oath it's okay to lie to officials it's okay to furtively go around with an accomplice secretly with flashlights in the library very much as a burglar does so if that's the example that you want to set for the students of GISD that's the moral example I'm somewhat disappointed with that I'll be brief which people will love uh in that uh I'm going to end
177with a quote uh there was a Senator uh Joseph McCarthy who uh did some reprehensible things and was censored by his colleague in 1950s but one of the most memorable quotes from that was when Joseph and Welch in the army versus uh versus McCarthy hearings Mr Joseph Wells addressed it's the late Senator McCarthy with at long last have ye no sense of decency thank you Mr James will speak now and Todd Daniel will speak next good evening board I'm here tonight to remind y'all that it is your duty as trustees to safeguard our children's ever since Rosa Parks was criticized and ridiculed for doing the right thing and sometimes doing what is right requires stepping outside the box and trustee Lowry did the right thing when she was ensuring that pornographic materials were not on
178the shelves for kids to view who is signing off allowing pornographic books on the shelves do y'all have morals you wouldn't give a kid a hustler recently school boards have let their guard down and allowed this hyper-sexualization of children there's a word for that it's called grooming and it has to stop y'all this push to normalize pornography among our youth is disgusting the only people that would want pornographic trash in front of kids is pedophiles school boards throughout the nation are failing when it comes to protecting the kids these books are placed on the shelf by someone in hopes of normalizing this trash y'all y'all need to follow trustee Lowry's lead and remove the child pornography from the shelves our children should not have to see this to the trustees that are standing against pornography
179and child grooming I want to say thank you good evening Miss Harrington I think you need to quit causing so much trouble yeah quit stirring it up your usefulness to this district is about done um I I don't understand how you guys can say that there's a district policy DB or anything else that applies to this school hadn't started Miss Lowry is an elected official and you are inhibiting her in her in her responsibility and her duty to her constituents and it needs to stop quit messing around she has every right to do her due diligence on the legislature's passed the law and said that you can't have these books in here and do you know what these books are half the people in here that came in here and talk about book Manning don't
180know what they're talking about these books are lewd and they are absolutely not appropriate for anyone it's not about LGBT it's not about any of that it's about lewd crude vulgar books that people don't want their kids to to be exposed to it's about satanic uh things it's it's they're terrible go look at the books yourself she did her job and school wasn't even it hadn't even started yet you guys need to get the bad books out of the school it's not against anybody anybody except the kids it's terrible last night in Fort Worth ISD uh I I could if I brought one of the books to you and started to read to you I could be arrested he would have to come over here and arrest me I can't show the pictures [Music] let's
181talk about what it really is it's lewd and crude material that's not appropriate thank you for doing your job quit inhibiting another elected official from doing their job with all your games and narratives and po-posting you out there on social media it's ridiculous you're old enough to know better actually you're too old you're too old remember that get rid of her do better you too how did the procedure how did we get these books in the first place Glenn how how are they in there and and oh but we can't check to make sure that they're they're out now we just have to take your word on it you're the one that let them in in the first place it's not enough what a way to end open forum all right I am old however
182I don't believe that I have ever supported pornography in this district and I'll go on record of saying I stand before my Lord saying that foreign Mrs Lowry okay everybody had to sit through all of this it's been quite exciting it's a shame we didn't have any popcorn all right um I want to thank all my supporters and I would thank you all for your patience for sitting through all of this while I'm going to read this and explain my side and explain all the little questions and all the things that have gone on I campaigned for GISD trustee Place seven I'm working to remove thank you for for videotaping that Paul I appreciate it out of the GISD library and the classrooms I won 58 of the vote in every Precinct down to her
18341 percent this said to me the majority of the voters agreed with my campaign I also campaigned on the idea of protecting the hearts and minds of children at GISD and educating the future I will continue to work for what I was elected to do when I was sworn in I was issued an all-access card to enter GISD buildings little white card gave it to me swipe a little box walk in in a meeting with trustee graft president Harrington and superintendent Glenn and an independent witness we discussed our continuing education among other items we kept being told they didn't have it recorded so we had to make a meeting to go back and have a meeting with them to say we did this we didn't go to tasby we went to a conservative training during
184this meeting the superintendent and I were discussing the forward system I asked if I could go to the library at any time at any school and he said yes call make an appointment the summer would be a great time to do that I have listed on the back wall on poster board BBE and what's in our board book that applied to what I did but time running out on August the 2nd 2023 whether it's still being summer no staff and no children reporting for the start of school I called the main office at approximately nine o'clock on August the 2nd to tell the principal's office which it says on our board book call the principal's office I and a parent would be coming to the school to go to the library yes board president she
185is a parent and she has a child and now she's very concerned about the retaliation at 9 26 we checked in at the main office principal's office [Music] the parents signed in through the Raptor system I wore my badge as directed by policy neither of us stayed or inferred we were going anywhere but the library we left the office and walked to the library we walked casually no sneaking or peeking around the corner my mistake I didn't know there was two doors I had been in the building for the convocation I knew the library door was over there that was the way we walked [Music] I did as policy states you can see it on the backboard BBE visits to District facilities board a board member shall adhere to any posted requirements for visitors to
186first report to the main office of a district facility including a school campus visits during the School of Business day shall not be permitted if their duration or frequency interferes with the delivery of the instruction or District Operations also see policy gkc the Education Code 11.1512g says the board will create a policy under the title trustees business to campuses or District facilities in our board operating procedures preferred bullet point trustee shall check in with the principal's office upon arrival and follow all campus guidelines for visitors trustees are strongly encouraged to display their badge identifying them as a trustee at all times I had mine on I walked in with it I didn't check in through the Raptor system because I had my badge on I complied with the BBE and the board book page 20
187and my discussion with the superintendent I was unaware of any other planned event at GISD previously scheduled for that day I was surprised when I came around the corner to the building that there were so many people so many cars parked in the parking lot people standing outside in the line in 103 plus Heat and parents were very upset about that because some of them didn't really get all the supplies they were supposed to get I've been told they got four supplies after they're still in the heat for however long they did when we arrived at the library the lights were off there was enough ambient light to see the books well enough except for the books that were near the floor so yes I used my cell phone flashlight I took pictures because of
188the changes to the ferret system and the trouble that I've been having getting information from the fullette system from the person in charge of that and my time constraints I had also been asked and reminded that I was supposed to give the superintendent a list of books well it's really hard to use the full wet system now so yes I went to the library while we were there a male subject walked into the library he did not identify himself but he asked me who I was and what I was doing he stayed several feet away so I don't know why I answered I'm Karen lowing a trustee and I have permission to be here as I do according to policy and I followed the policy [Music] he told us children would be coming in it
189would be loud and he left no children came while we were in the library this man I later found out as the assistant principal I also became aware that the superintendent was in the building the assistant principal did not offer to turn on the lights I did not wander around the building looking for someone to turn the lights on I said I was going to the library and that's where I stayed [Music] he did not get security did not ask us to leave did not send someone to sit with us and the superintendent did not come down and speak with us as I had to attend an intergovernmental meeting at 11 o'clock we stayed an hour or so I saw the superintendent and the board president at 11 but neither one of them said anything
190to me but within the emails I found out that they knew I had been in the library [Music] and let's let's talk about the dark in the library for a minute I didn't walk around looking for it I did not know where the light switch was because I wasn't searching for it I could see the books quite well it was not Pitch Black we didn't have spy glasses the only thing we did was look at the books with the ambient light now let's discuss the aftermath of this visit to the library Thursday August the 3rd 2023 at 10 o'clock email from the board president sent to everyone on the board and the superintendent was titled reminder of Boardwalk rules for members rules the following points are from aboard president's email not mine these are from
191her again board president the person with me was indeed a parent I was unaccompanied I encourage everyone to look up policy gkc local community relations visitors again these are these are points from the board president I violated several policies on page 20. I failed to follow one of the major campus safety rules which is that any visitor shall be accompanied by a staff member at all times the visitor is on the campus I don't really know where that might be I've never been told that I in fact I want to put this in there on February the 14th checked in through the Raptor system as a volunteer I went in I was helping in the cafeteria decorating and giving out candy and the person that was in charge wanted to go to the back hall
192I said well don't look at me I can't go and there was some assistant principal he saw more he said hey I need to go to the back hall Karen Karen always a trustee and she'd take me she looked at him and said yes I know who she is I didn't have my badge on my my tag said cafeteria that was where I was supposed to be I took three people escorted them to the back hall with all the kids coming in through the doors it was assumed by the staff I cannot be held accountable for what that person might have assumed Student Center focus these are all just entries on an email that I was given from the board president protecting the hearts and minds of the students is being student center focused report
193to the board president by numerous people who are these people how many I pulled the board member card and the staff could feel bullied answering who I am is not pulling the board member card or bullying I'm simply stating who I am this one's interesting teachers feel violated I guess the AP the assistant principal said something to make them feel that way because my being in the library which is a taxpayer property along with everything else in the building should not make anyone feel violated if I have any questions please feel free to contact me this is not a request for an interview an investigation Thursday August the 3rd 2023 1004 first email 10 o'clock to everybody 1004 to me [Music] the email was titled report of suspicious activity in the high school the following
194again business from the board president's email to me it has been reported to me the board president does not say who did the reporting it was reported by some observers again who as very sneaky behavior only one person came into the library so who are these observers I used my cell phone flashlight application yes the assistant principal did not offer to turn on the lights and I did not leave the library to go in search of someone to turn them on I said I was going to the library and that's what I did my actions were nefarious and a staff feel again I cannot control what people feel the superintendent confirmed there was an incident reported to him when did he hear that the superintendent was at operation school supply well he bet he did
195not come to the library with a report of suspicious Behavior I've never seen such a violation of Ethics removing the administration putting out a parent's name to social media that kind of qualifies as a ethics violation I am always available to answer questions or listen to concerns and welcome the opportunity to assist that is still not an interview request what president emailed to me and superintendent dated Friday August the 4th 2023 6 19 PM 32 hours later results of Investigation of your unauthorized presence in the library again the following is from the board president's email to me the statement from ghs principal and ghs front office clerk front office she attached the visitor pass to her person whatever you guys all want to call her referring to me the video does not show that and
196what difference would it make if I helped her parents did not identify herself but was identified by video who made the identification from a video or was it from the Raptor system any investigation done on that I violated every standard of ethics for a school board member well I can find out point out a few for you guys too using a very busy activity to misrepresent why you were there that's an assumption by the board president I was never asked students could have been there but it was still summer vacation and they never came in the entire time they were in the library you were completely untruthful again it is your assumption I was being untruthful since you had not asked me anything for me to reply to the superintendent stated I have told her
197under the board's standard operating procedures trustees can visit campuses including libraries however the expectation is all trustees would follow the board procedure for visitation which is call the main office principal's office they were aware of my visit I called and I followed policy a stack of papers in your hand that you are that were not in your hand when you entered the library did I steal them would you care to explain well on Tuesday August the 8th that 2023 20.3 at 1 31 PM the board president sent an email to me in the superintendent titled additional information on the investigation this is from her email I want to make a correction to my email regarding the investigation it is obvious from a different security camera angle that you did not enter the library with papers
198in your hand a good investigator would make sure the information is correct before you make the accusation [Music] still no invitation for anyone of you I've stated the facts for your information her letter says this is the board's president's perspective facts no she didn't have any facts she said that there was an open records request why not what items what items of these facts did require an open records Act [Music] I've added my personal comments well I'm a good investigator knows or personal comments are irrelevant to this to the investigation she has never seen such a blatant breach of Ethics in public schools not making a policy for the purchase and the use of an airplane releasing the name of a parent that's pretty blatant breach of Ethics don't you think I can find no
199way to support your behavior you have never asked to sit and discuss this with me the only thing these emails show is that you have deemed me guilty from reverse sentence that you wrote and she continues refute anything revealed so far how do I refuse something I have not received any information on to know what to refute still no request to be interviewed by whomever is doing this investigation or I have been told who this outside source is that the board president refers to Wednesday August the 16th 2023 9 53 PM I respectfully requested IB provided the policies I was being accused of violating and what I had done that warranted investigation I also ask if I understood her correctly she was not going to let me have access to the investigative findings until the
200scheduled meeting and then expect me to offer my defense which is exactly what happened there's a yellow packet in front of me here as the report and the things in it I knew nothing about what the report was going to be until now and I still haven't read it I received the BBE policy which is shown on the poster board I follow policy but our email then says while you did not violate campus policy I am accused of violating ethics I will tell the truth I have a clean conscience I have told the truth I'm not so sure about the investigator [Music] what about the ethics I will be fair just and impartial in all my decisions and actions what president have you been Fair adjusting and partial in your investigation to me what about
201I will base my decisions on fact rather than supposition opinion or public favor has this investigation been based on facts or supposition opinion or social media posts I will be continuously Guided by what is best for all the students of the district spending taxpayer money for this Witch Hunt harassing and bullying another trustee is not what is in the best interest of the students for this District a more important investigation will be to find out who gave out the parents name to social media within two to three hours of my being in the library was that a PIR request that was a fast one if it was due to the retaliation harassing culture as evidenced by this 20-day ordeal of harassing me spending taxpayer dollars instead of focusing on the needs of the children and
202the start of school this retaliation culture is a concern for many of the parents and the teachers as I am often told thus why they do not come my guilt was proclaimed from the first report of my being in the Library without anyone asking me why I was there I never have never been asked to interview and I've never received any information from the investigation or by whom this investigation was being conducted I was told in an email from the board president to the superintendent and me on Wednesday August the 9th 2023 at 2 33 PM that the superintendent will provide all of the evidence none of which was provided to me to the school's attorney Joey Moore who will take the evidence and compile the final objective investigative report this is your tax dollars
203at work in conclusion vengeance is mine and recompense says the Lord board president superintendent board and audience I am not going anywhere foreign Ted by the community and I will fulfill my campaign Promises to the best of my ability until my turn is over so Mr and superintendent I will be here another two years [Music] in full disclosure since excuse me uh import this culture for she read pieces and parts of my email the original one let me back up and tell you that on August the 2nd our resistance in my time you've had all of your time for the last 20 days I I did all of the words came out of your keyboard This is discussion this is we are we are at discussion now I will read I will read my full
204email to her well first of all let me back up and say on August the 2nd I got a call from someone in the community that said I've been told that what about your our board members was in the library within Darkness name the person would you like to would you what and so I called I heard I she said I saw it on social media was the first I heard for someone calling me telling me on the day of the incident that they signed on special social media so I called Dr Glenn to verify that Dr Glenn said there has been a part of our allegation and that we are looking into that the next day I got from Dr Glenn copies of the statements that were made and copies of videos the videos
205of the security cameras um the hallways and when I got that this is the full email that went only to miss Lowry and a copy of it to Dr Glenn more president um I think the discussion of the accusations was for me to be presented by me are we going to now have a debate about what you said and what I said because I've already married most of your email no my email said my emails [Music] not no you need to be quiet [Music] audience audience is a reminder this is a meeting of the trustees please let the trustees discuss don't call out as suggested earlier they're going to have a debate all of us will all of us will will discuss this my email to her said Karen it has been reported to me
206that you and Colin Reeves were observed in the high school library yesterday exhibiting what was described by some observers as very quote sneaky unquote Behavior the reports I got stated that you were in the Library without lights on we're behind the library's desk and we're taking pictures of library books one report even stated that you are using your cell phone flashlight application I was also told that when you checked into the high school office the South the staff assumed you were assisting with operation school supply distribution for some of your fellow board members who are volunteering if these reports are not accurate please clarify what really happened my my attorney said don't answer wow I cannot come down or support the behavior I would hope that your actions were not as nefarious as some of
207the staff felt like there were nothing good ever comes from an action that appears to lack transparency if you want to go into the library to take pictures of books you should not have to hide that in darkness but should make an appointment go in and see what titles are on the Shelf I also reported that when you were confronted you identified yourself as a board member with permission to be there it is never appropriate to use your position as a board member as an excuse or reason to be in a place where you should have no authority to be while as board members we have no actual authority over staff the fact is our position on the board is perceived otherwise such action could be interpreted as bullying after I got these reports today
208I confirmed with Dr Graham that there was an incident reported to him I would remind you that Dr Glenn and my president presence earlier this year made the offer to accompany you or have someone accompany you to any Library Dr Glenn was president at the Granbury High School yesterday at operation school supply distribution but you failed to approach him about visiting the library perhaps your lack of experience in Basic School operations resulted in making this Choice without thinking of the consequences which are the lack of trust and support from the staff and fellow board members such a violation of Ethics does not serve us on the board well when you ran for the board you often stated you would bring transparency to the modern District your actions today certainly do not speak to your individual
209commitment to your own transparency we are the governing body but we should not be appointing ourselves as individual investigators I have used the incident today as a reminder to me and our Boardman members of just what our roles and responsibilities as board members are please read the specific policies and procedures cited in that General memo to all board members which by the way did not call any board member by name as you as your board president I encourage you to work with Dr Glenn when you have issues and if you really want to investigate something I personally commit to working with you and Dr Graham or any administrator to see that your concern is addressed I will I am always available to answer your questions and listen to your concerns and welcome the opportunity to
210assist you as you navigate this uh so I so I so please feel free to contact me I will not read the other one but I will read one comment that I made in that the second response to her and I sent that because as I stated I stated the facts specifically for her that that regained from the comments from the letters from the folks that were were asked for viewing the email and I reviewed direct quotes for her at that time then I stated I have stated the facts for your information because a request for these items has been made under the open records act as president of this board I felt that it was only right to let you know exactly what will be available to the public and those open records request
211this was set at 6 19 p.m right after I found out that those those open records were requested I will go on record here and state for this community and for Miss Lowry and no no time that Dr Glenn or I put this stuff out on the public it was not and how did they get it they requested an open records I don't know what the Open West doesn't open records for the for the video from when we were in the library and within two hours they got all that information that all happened on um Friday August the 4th when I found out that that post was out on social media two hours three hours after I was in the library I have something that I would like to read that's in reference to this
212too from a Zeb olum this is on social media somebody gave this to me I don't go to his hate group but someone um brought this to my attention and I'm going to read word for word this is going to be here before we know it I've been asked by other board members to ask the public taxpayers of Granbury to email the board to express your concerns on this important matter speakers will be held to a mere three minutes but our emails are communicated in full please write the board ahead of this meeting so that they can give full consideration to your concerns my question is this who on this board asked him to do this and this is on social media on that hate group this goes to what Karen is saying so what
213board members did that what what's the dative yeah there's I don't they didn't give me a date they just there's no date on here but the question is what board members are asking Zeb Owen to post to do this and post it on a hate group on social media well I can guarantee you that I did not I did not either and what's what's the name of the hate I'm not gonna give the name of the hate group I think most people know because I'm not going to give it undue attention it's not a place that I would um advise anyone to go to so why would I name the group [Music] I have a question about the all-access card I know we all have a card but we don't have access across the district
214did you get a different card than the rest of us the the access the accesses just for that door right well I was walking when I was waiting in line at the high school in February the 14th one of the staff members walked by and said why do you stand there use your little card swipe it and come on in and I was told no because I haven't used it be honest with you I forgot I had it I don't use it but I still was given it and told that I had access to just that door sometimes the communication doesn't come real significantly to the two of us we kind of get left out of things [Music] um I I don't know what communication you're referring to I just know that when when I
215got mine I was told it was just for that door well I can refer to some of that communication we were left out of like the teacher's convocation where all the names of all the trustees was put on there thank you for donating except for Karen in my name and I looked at Karen I said did you get that email no no it was sent out to every trustee yeah I can't sign up for something I didn't get an email we all got that email get that email I did not see that email no thank you we all got it but you know what it's it's it's like almost 10 o'clock at night I think everybody kind of knows what's going to go on here I don't really think we need a lot more discussion
216people like to go home well I have some questions that are essential to how I would vote tonight that I'd like to ask I'll be surprised go ahead okay you said that you didn't turn the lights on because you didn't know where the switch was I know the perception of you being in the dark made it look quote unquote sneaky when the assistant principal came in about five minutes after you were in there did you ask him to turn the lights on for you should I have to ask an assistant principal to turn the lights on for somebody yeah if you said you didn't know where the switch was that's why you didn't know I I did not because he never even offered he just said who are you and what are you doing in
217here and then he left yes if he could assist you no he did not and what we're doing here is we're taking his word we're taking the little girl at the front desk word and we're trying to say this is fact they're lying I'm saying there's a lot of misinformation going on so are you saying that the assistant principal and the lady at the front are lying no I'm not going to answer that but my testimony is a lot more reliable I think than somebody who is going to want to a young lady sitting behind the Raptor system what do you think she's going to say when she asked when she said thank you for being here and volunteering did you correct her in that she didn't say that we said have a good day
218we're going to the library so we have a we have a case of her word against yours and his word against yours is essentially what we have right here they're they're saying they said these things and you're saying that they did not okay Karen just to clarify did you know that operation school supplies was happening on that day I had no idea like I said I was really surprised that the parking lot was so full and did you tell the receptionist where you were going I told her exactly where I was going when I called to tell her I was coming into the principal's office and then I told her when I got there where I was going and that's where I stayed I have another question too that hasn't been answered and I think
219the audience would like to know who is the outside investigator that investigated this [Music] you have in front of you the investigation reporter or conduct of trustee Karen Lowry signed by Joey Moore yeah she signed it who did the investigation Joey didn't do the investigation the information the information we gathered who did the investigation asked the questions gather the information Joey Moore asked for the information said I shouldn't do the investigation who talked to the principal who talked to the other person who wrote all this up and then gave it to Joey Moore they were asked to provide statements by who who is they they who okay so that's great I would like I'd like to answer but but first let me let me just clarify it the administration doesn't uh doesn't police the school
220board you guys have to police yourselves so I'm happy to provide clarification on all of these questions so so first first I want to go back to a statement Miss Lowry made I was at operation first day of school I left because we had I left early because we had an inter governmental meeting and what you're aware of because you attended I did receive a call after I had left from assistant superintendent Tammy Clark saying she had been alerted by an assistant principal that you were in the library teachers had walked by the library they had seen people and there were flashlights and they were concerned he wanted a flashlight again you're phone your phone flashlight on your phone Fair so he was alerted he uh he went in and asked he was alerted by
221who because I saw he and Timmy walked by so we had I guess staff members that walked by um you know when I look at the video we have custodians going by so so regardless he he walked in and uh and y'all had a conversation and I will get into the details he's provided a statement on that and he was I I asked Amy Clark to get the the statements so all of the statements Tammy Clark requested specifically from the high school principal from Mr Guidry and for the receptionist and then those were forwarded to uh to Joey Moore so to clarify there was no outside investigation correct I think I just explained what happened that's not an outside investigation who was the outside investigator actually someone was asked from the outside to to but
222and I guess I asked I can explain it again but I can't understand it for you so specifically specifically um specifically to your point I was specifically to your point I was asked I was asked by Tammy Clark what do we want to do Mr Guidry has just found a board member that has not no one knew that uh that you were going to be in the library looking at books with with a friend the main office New okay they refute that and in the principal refutes that that a call was made to his house so I understand but I'm just saying well we want parents to come into our facilities we want board members to come into our facilities we want to provide that access we just we just want we want trustees and
223the community and the public to follow the procedures when they do that I did okay I I guess maybe we need to have a review of the policies and procedures so as we go back as we go back to the principle when the call was made to me it was do you want the AP to go in there and escort her out because they're supposed to be in the cafeteria we're under the assumption they were helping with operation first day of school and my answer to them and my answer to them was no because again I don't think any trustee up here or any trustee in any District in Texas wants to be feared by staff and then I can assure you that no employee of Granbury ISD wants to have to walk in and
224tell a trustee hey I'm going to have to get you out of here you're not where you're supposed to be but they watched that when we walked out to each other and say somebody says we need to leave we will the whole salary positive they won't have positive relationships I don't understand that and so do I we get undermined quite a bit with all of this when I was at the governmental meeting with you two and you had already gotten your phone call I didn't do it okay why didn't you pull me aside and say Karen I need to talk to you I had not talked to the campus principal yet and again keep let's let's be we'll be very transparent with the community that that you in this graft have said you want no
225communication with me or the other trustees except by email did we not go into a room this did we not go to a meeting with you after a bunch of emails back and forth and nothing got fixed so we were in a back we were in a room with you and sat down to discuss our training we did that we're just saying we don't want any phone calls we request emails because they can be traced so when someone does a public information request it's very transparent to the public they can see everything that we've ever discussed I've mentioned that more than once you guys are doing all the talking I got a quick question I wasn't done talking well you've been talking quite a bit I have a quick question and we have some school
226Marshals here you've been around the library are the light switches particularly hard to find in the library anybody that knows that answer there's a hand back there okay they're right by the front door you're in there for an hour and 20 minutes didn't even think about going to and looking on a wall for a light switch [Music] parents thought I was working from worked we didn't see it there was like I said enough ambient light all we had to do was look we didn't need the full light on in fact there was a person in there when we got there with no light on but they left when we got there it didn't take a mental giant to figure out and walk around the wall and look for a light switch hey I've not I've
227not called you any names Mental Giant it doesn't take a mental giant to walk around the room and find a light switch in an hour 20 minutes I would have walked around and found a light switch and turned it on and gone in and done whatever I had I've been wasting my time to walk around for an hour and 20 minutes looking for a light switch you're wasting a lot of our time here tonight I didn't start Mr Wimberly Mr Wimberley she didn't she didn't call this meeting and I have another why was there no board approval for this meeting she didn't call this meeting she's not wasting anyone's time actually actually she asked for this this agenda to be put on Monday I asked in our investigation nor did I ask for a meeting
228a simple sit-down discussion with the three of us would have been just fine with me you didn't say that you're the board president you should have offered it reached out to you by email several times I never asked for and she asked for yourself you don't understand you refuse to give I still I saw the emails I've seen you don't have better I can't tell you how many no response no response because the lawyer said don't okay then how are they how are y'all supposed to have communication well gee I don't know maybe that instead of this long email to everybody she might have just called and said Karen let's go sit down and talk about this I mean you requested to be yep yep email communication only at this time we were getting nowhere
229uh obviously uh I we we heard we heard we heard uh Mrs Lowry's uh comments without interrupting her at this point if any other board member has a comment they're welcome to make it at this point and then we'll move to uh whether or not we want to move to Accenture or not I have a question and then you have a comment my first question is if her behavior was so nefarious why was law enforcement not called yeah I don't think it uh in my opinion I don't think it constituted a criminal act and and it as far as the actions of administration we serve at the discretion of the board we did what we were asked to do in the process and we used to board police each other and ourselves and as president
230of this board it was my responsibility to look at what was happening and notify this at the minute that I found out that it in fact was something I called me I mean I didn't call because I can't I I don't have her number I emailed Mrs Lowry with the facts that had been are the information that had been reported to me the minute that I got the other information and evaluated it sat on it until I found out that on open records request had been made and that it was going to hit the public and I did as I said in my email to her thought it was unfair to her but everybody else in the community to have it and her not know what facts were being offered and I reached out to
231her again by email to do that so it is not my responsibility to get anybody in the law enforcement involved it is my responsibility to work with the board to try to work through these things and three times I reached out to her asking her if she had a statement and she was going to present a statement and responded in one of them that she would however I saw the statement the first time just like I saw that the accusations the first time I was a the fact that she'd been in the library the first time on social media I have one more thing I had the pleasure of meeting our new high school principal on the first day of school and I had a conversation with him and this is the word toward conversation
232um this is me talking I said so when I come on campus whenever any of us come on campus do I need to check in with you and he said I would just like to know that you're on campus or not that's really it it is not a directive feel free to come in and do your duties so I said do I always have to stop in to see you so no if you want to if you want to that's fine I said I want to ask you one more question about the library is the library a place we can just go and check out he said yeah I said so the right way is to just check in with the office we don't necessarily have to check in with you he said correct I
233just want to know if you are on campus or not and we have an issue here because we have employees that have made statements that are being we're being told that are not true I mean how do we know what's true and not at this point if you're saying that you said this they've said that I mean bottom line is we've got board and Dr Harrington could you do me a favor and explain the difference between the district policy and what our board operating procedures how they apply to us as a board our our board operating procedures to give a little more detail to help keep us in my words out of the ditches so that we are doing we have more guidance we may be more restrictive we may be but we can never
234be less restricted than the law so as board operating procedures that we adopt as board members uh we can set aside set up special regulations and we're expected to follow those correct yes I have them right here from page 20. there's six bullet points on the first bullet point talks about encouraged to attend as many schools and events as possible the second one talks about a visit to the campus after checking with the principal regarding the best time to visit so long as it does not disrupt the learning process the third one says trustees shall check in with the principal's office upon arrival and follow all campus guidelines for visitors trustees are strongly encouraged to display their badge identifying them as trustees at all times that is what I did and campus guidelines doesn't give
235us unfettered access to the entire campus this is the board operating procedure this is exactly what we have to follow the campus guidelines for all visitors Courtney I called and then I went and then I did everything it says on this piece of paper okay well yeah it's not going to go anybody else have a comment or our [Music] I have one comment that is more for the the public um we've heard a lot of times about oh worrying about the fact that we're computers in there and there might have been some information looked at Mr Wilson didn't she do a check to make sure that there was no breach during that period of time yeah we did Auto log on the computers in the area to make sure there was no authorized or unauthorized
236access to any of those devices and was there any there was none thank you uh Dr Glenn when you talk to our new principal who by the way visited him the first week he was on campus up there welcome to the district when you talk to uh the new principle what was his comment about having Miss Lowry reach out to him on August 2nd he was unaware of the missile where he was going to be on campus and when no one made contact with him on August 2nd I was unaware he was in from Bernie or on the campus either so how did you check in with the principal then Courtney we're we're finished with this we were getting us nowhere I didn't have to check in with the principal it said go to if
237you read what it says in the board operating procedures it says go to the principal's office it doesn't say I have to check but my biggest concern was they they said thank you for being there for volunteering but you're saying that that's not correct information so it's really since there was no audio because I asked for the audio in the video no that's not what she said and I told her we're going to the library so we're ready once again we're just at a standstill your word against theirs any any other comments I guess my my issue with this whole incident is not that you ran on an agenda to remove the books from the library or your pursuit of we're moving books the last eight months every member of this board committed to keeping
238Library safe and every one of us from this Podium have expressed the opinion that we are against porn and that we do not support that kind of material in our Library my issue is much more fundamental we are a nation founded on laws and our forefathers set out some basic laws for us to follow in order to be a safe and secure Society six times in our constitution references made to rules as board members we are governed by broad policy and board operating procedures for more than a decade access to public schools has been limited limited even to trustees because of security concerns Grand Bay ISD board operating procedures require um School Board member to call the principal and confirm a visit and Miss Dr Glenn and I both confirmed that with Mrs Lowry two
239weeks before in the meeting of July the 19th unauthorized students are not permitted because of safety concerns I have visited every campus in Granbury I stay in numerous times and have always been accompanied by a staff member because even staff members are not allowed to stroll around through the campuses or go on authorized areas over the past three weeks we have received about 60 males by this time when I wrote my comments that was that was much further than that ten of those supported Mrs Lowry the others have been an outcry from this community at the the others have been an outcry from this community with regard to this incident and ask and most of them she got and and they asked her for her resignation some of them we got and they asked us
240to ask her for her resignation this board was not prepared tonight to ask her for a resignation because those are not our even in with within the purview of our responsibilities we are here tonight we have for me and what this board has to do is look at the facts the facts that were presented from statements from this the staff in this community to look at the uh the facts of the videos the security videos that attract Where She Went the I would ask all of the board members to look at at the summation of the attorneys where she thought were breaches of our rules rules and laws I would say to you that you have heard the evidence from as analyzed or presented by the attorney those were statements presented to her that were
241collected from the staff you have heard Mrs Lowry's comments and what we have to do now you've heard from fellow board members you've heard all of this each of you has to determine whose statements are true these are not and you have to make your decision solely upon facts and not personal opinion or personal likes or dislikes or who is your friend and who is not your friend if there is no motion to sit your then we will take no action I will tell you this that this board is not is in a not in a win-win situation because half of this room is going to go out of here angry tonight and I would ask whoever that half as I agree to leave it in the same silence that I will ask the others
242John to go out and it's joyful mode that shows that you want because nobody's going to win in this but half of you are going to go out very angry so I would ask the board to evaluate that to go back and take a minute and look at at the things on uh Miss Morris a presentation from tonight and if in fact there is no motion to censure there will be no censure from this board however if after you've looked at that you feel like the Accenture is is served you understand that censure is only a public record reprimand it has no real Authority we do not we do not have the authority to ask for her resignation we do not have the authority to do anything else so I would ask you to examine
243those things as objectively as you can as you can at this time is there any further discussion or is there a motion [Music] I just like to say something there were 50 speakers here tonight by my account I appreciate all of you speaking from your heart I think it's important that we do that I was kind of keeping a tabulation of who was for and who was against and it's about split in half it's about split in half and like Dr Harrington said there's not going to be any winners in this the public here has been deceived in a way I think by um groups in the county I think there's two members of this board that are members of these groups and um I think they're destructive to the process of fair play and
244good politics in the county I think we're hurt by that so I I'd like I said I don't think there's going to be any winners in this Accenture um does nothing just like uh has been said but it's I think that there's groups in this County that are have influenced over two of our trustees we have a hard split we've had it the whole time I've been here and there's very little effective communication because of the way um some of our board members want to be addressed or not addressed by other members of the board and that just creates a gap so um I have nothing further to say but I appreciate everybody's coming out here tonight spending this time and uh we'll see where it goes from here I agree I think communication is
245key and I think there is definitely an issue surrounding communication and a lot of this could have been resolved with a phone call if that was possible it's hard to convey tone and sentiment in an email in the written word and things can be taken completely different than how you mean for them to come across whereas when you can pick up the phone and call someone they can hear the sincerity in your voice and know how much you care and how much you really want to reach resolution [Music] it's unfortunate that it has come to this based on the report that we've got and the statements from the employees it's clear to me that the people at the front office thought that Miss Lowry and her companion were there for operation school supplies as indicated
246by the Raptor badge the location on there was for cafeteria if there was no attempt made to correct that assumption then that is What's led us here and it should have been corrected in the office at that time so that they knew where they were intending to go I will also say that one of the roles as a trustee is to set policies for the district and create board operating procedures both of which help to maintain the Integrity of our school district and our role as board members our status as elected officials does not give us unfettered access to school campuses nor does it give us authority to run over the district however we please we as a board we as board members must be willing to follow our own policies so as not to
247create an environment of distrust within the district and community it is clear that the actions Ms Lowry took as evidenced by the community and the outcry that we've heard tonight has broken some of that trust with our staff parents and community members foreign [Music] I also agree that the way that this whole situation was handled did create a loss of trust among the community and among the staff and trust is something that's easily lost and it's difficult to earn especially after that trust and an acknowledgment of that loss needs to be the first step a lot of that was just because of a lack of communication um the idea that you would have been given counsel not to answer just I can't imagine what possible good was supposed to come from that and I'm I'm
248sorry that you did receive that type of counsel the reason that I was given that type of counsel was because I was told that this was going to the school lawyer so I thought that it was time for me to be sure that I counseled up too because this person was not going to be representing me but it's the pleasure of this board we don't win no matter what we do we don't win the only people that pay the price for this no matter what happens tonight are the kids of this District absolutely [Music] do you think that there's something that could have been done Mrs Larry I'm asking you do you think that there's something that could have been done differently [Music] foreign I went to AMS I called the principal I made an
249appointment I went and I was escorted around I have not seen in our policies where it says that we have to be escorted when we're in the building I was asked to escort someone three people in fact to a back hall and we all sit down and go over these policies and maybe make them a little clearer yeah I'm sure we could because that second or third bullet point clearly says just check in with the principal's office it may be a polite thing to do to let the principal know you were there I didn't even know the principal was there it was summer there weren't any children there were not any teachers I think that's a good idea I think we should get together and do that and go over the policy and see what
250works for this board there's clearly a miscommunication or misunderstanding of what the policy says and what you because you think you followed it and then what we have brings that into question so I think going over that policy as a board working on that together is a good step a good first step I can agree with that Miss Lowry would you have preferred me not to notify you what was going on and the accusations that were made and what you were preferred to me and would you have prepared me not to let you know that that was going viral and that you read it on social media go ahead I think we're kind of past that point I think an email saying Karen let's meet up here at the principles or the principal's office or
251the superintendent's office and let's talk about we've had some reports of something and none of that has happened that I went by email and then all of a sudden everybody had all kinds of information about the meeting that Melanie and I had with you two that then produced a foia request or a PIR the next within 24 36 hours how did that information get out and who told him to know what to ask for that that is disturbing to me so you you and Mrs graft and an attorney and I'm I'm not big on school law but but I think I mean y'all call the meeting y'all bring an attorney in without telling Dr Harrington myself secretly record the meeting which again I'm not a lawyer but but I would wonder like if the bar
252association would have a licensing issue with secretly recording a meeting an attorney doing that I did not have I did not have a recording of it Dr H did not have a recording of it how did the information get out I don't know I don't know I can guarantee you we didn't give anybody any information about the three of us you were just gonna I mean you're just gonna keep it secret which I guess is fine but we get fleas for stuff all the time A lot of times they just are blanket foyers just trying to grab information and they get what they get or they don't I mean I've got a a request for uh some voicemails or something like I don't even don't even know this person so I I don't know bottom
253line is Lowry I heard it first because someone saw it on social media long before there were any requests for information I I heard it first that way so the initial actions that you took obviously generated so I'm interested in it from the folks that knew you were there whoever that was that had nothing to do with anybody on this board or nothing to do with anybody else it hit the fact that you were there in the library hit social media before I the world president even was aware that those accusations were there isn't it conceivable to you that those same people might have a vested interest in this district and would be curious about it and ask for the information well no I'm talking about the private meeting we had with the two of
254you in your conference room but as far as that goes who is it if we've done an investigation on who released the parent's name because that is a clear violation of gkc you're not supposed to do that our that Raptor system or from looking and asking trying to figure out who it is however it happened that needs to be a true investigation because that is a breach of Ethics that has caused a lot of problems I don't think that's been nearly as problematic for this District or this community as some other issues have been and I will say this that without a doubt however you perceived my contact with you I think it was misperceived I think that you did not in either case accept the message that I sent to you and that this
255today tonight has become more of Vendetta against me as more present than you and I'm okay with that because my responsibility is to try to keep this board on on task and serving the kids in this District and I am also okay with the some of the things that have been said that we know are not true I hope you are okay with things that have been said about you that are not true but this in fact has almost become a Karen Lowry against Barbara Harrington and Dr Glenn the evening and it's a sad thing for me as board members have to bring those of you that have other activities to do like a presidential debate [Music] bring you into to hear this kind of malicious stuff that's going on what we're essentially being asked
256to do tonight is to either believe the teachers the administrators and their statements or believe what Mrs Lowry is telling us that's really what this boils down to yeah [Music] I'm going to stand with our teachers and our staff and I'm going to move that we censure Karen Lowry a second emotion I have emotion and a second to Center Karen Lowry Is there further discussion all in favor of the motion the censored caramelary Lowry raise your hand all opposed same sign let the record show on a photo of five to zero this motion is carried with businesses I'm in 5-2 with Miss with Karen Lowry and Miss Kraft objecting or voting no I would ask all of you to go home and I Pleasant way to not in it have any kind of interaction between
257either group because that is inappropriate in a school setting thank you all for your time tonight and may God bless each and every one of you [Music] Wade Park