Georgetown Independent School District’s Board of Trustees voted to terminate teacher Lisa Cantu’s contract. This came after a mother alleged the teacher abused her 11-year-old special needs daughter and the district engaged in a cover-up.
On October 21, the school board voted to find that “good cause” had been found to terminate Cantu’s contract. Trustee Anthony Blankenship moved to terminate, followed by Trustee Stephanie Blanck.
Milytza Guzman, the mother, shared her story with Texas Scorecard earlier this month. Guzman said the district called her to pick up her daughter from Wolf Ranch Elementary on September 19. The district didn’t make it clear to her why until five days later when they showed her a video of Cantu pinning her daughter’s arms and restraining her without cause, before then dragging the girl to an area without cameras. Guzman said the district would not let her have a copy of the recording, citing the federal Family and Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
“I’m relieved that she is terminated,” said Guzman. “But I do want to seek legal action to see what can be done to prevent this from ever happening again to any other child.”
The recording of the October 21 board meeting was unclear, but a Georgetown ISD spokesperson confirmed to Texas Scorecard that the vote to terminate Cantu was unanimous. They declined to issue any further statement on the matter.
This move was a step above the district’s written statement provided for the October 16 article. “State law grants protections for school employees that can prevent the district from acting as swiftly as some would like. However, I can confirm that Ms. Cantu has not been on campus since campus administrators learned of the alleged incident.”
While relieved, Guzman still expressed frustration. “It should not have taken this long, nor should I have been stonewalled and gaslit for this long,” she said.
Now, she’s left trying to help her daughter heal and move forward. “Kids are already anxious enough. For kids, schools are usually a safe haven, and my daughter was honestly so excited to start a new chapter,” Guzman said. “Now I’m having to deal with the regression and the fallout of all of it, and [my daughter’s] having to start all over for her emotionally too … It just sucks that it was ruined by somebody she was meant to learn from and trust.”
For parents who find out their own child has been abused by a school employee, Guzman advised persistence. “Don’t give up. I know these districts try to give you the runaround, but honestly, we’re our kids’ greatest advocate. If we don’t do it, then who will?”
State records show the Texas Education Agency is investigating Cantu.
TEA was asked for comment on the status of the investigation. “The educator in question remains under review by TEA’s Educator Investigations Division,” replied Jake Kobersky of the TEA.
