Lorena ISD school board members sided with the district in a parent’s complaint over why embattled Primary School Principal April Jewell cut the mom’s substitute teaching position.
During a special meeting Monday night, Lorena Independent School District trustees voted unanimously against a Level 3 grievance filed by single mom Wendy Harding.
Harding said she lost her job as a substitute teacher at Lorena Primary School after advocating for her special-needs son, who is a student at the school.
Despite the school board’s unanimous vote against her, Harding said her fight is just beginning, and she will now file state and federal complaints against Lorena ISD.
Harding started substitute teaching at the beginning of 2024-25 school year—both as a source of extra income and to gain experience toward one day becoming a teacher.
In her complaint, Harding accuses Jewell of removing her from the list of approved substitute teachers because Harding brought a representative from the State Board of Education, Evelyn Brooks, to a meeting with Jewell to help mediate concerns regarding her son.
Jewell claims that Harding was removed due to poor work performance.
Harding told Texas Scorecard that she had only ever received praise from Jewell regarding her work.
Jewell is also a defendant in the sex abuse lawsuit filed against the district by the family of a four-year-old girl who was molested at school by her pre-K teacher—a “permanent” substitute named Nicolas Crenshaw who went to prison after pleading guilty to the crimes.
Harding notes that Crenshaw was allegedly difficult to fire, while in her case, “I was quickly and easily removed from my position for merely advocating my for son.”
She said the district “snuck in” new pages to its grievance response just a few days before Monday’s hearing that purported to document complaints about Harding’s performance. Trustees then reportedly refused to allow Harding to rebut the information contained in the new pages.
Two Lorena parents spoke Monday night in support of Harding.
When mom Jessica Montez mentioned how Harding was confronted by administrators during her son’s Valentine’s Day party and threatened with arrest, the district’s outside attorney—Meredith Walker with Walsh Gallegos—frantically motioned to trustees to silence her.
Trustees talked over Montez, claiming her comments did not pertain to an agenda item, even as she explained that the harassment she was describing was retaliation against Harding for filing the grievance trustees were considering that night.
“They govern themselves, and as usual they find themselves guilty of no wrongdoing,” Montez commented after the meeting.
Lorena mom Charity Cervantez also addressed the trustees, describing how she had encouraged Harding to file a grievance after learning about her experiences with Jewell.
“What happened after Ms. Harding began advocating for her son? Hardcore retaliation and humiliation,” said Cervantez.
Cervantez also briefly mentioned the Valentine’s Day harassment, which was witnessed by several other parents in the classroom, adding, “Let me remind you—retaliation is illegal.”
Texas parents who believe their local school officials are violating district policies must file a grievance stating their complaint.
The grievance process has three levels. If a campus-level complaint heard by the principal does not resolve the issue, a parent can escalate the grievance to the district superintendent, and then finally to the school board.
Districts employ outside attorneys to fight against complaints like Harding’s, and grievances are almost always decided in favor of school districts.
However, parents must exhaust the local grievance process before appealing to the Texas Education Agency—which also consistently sides with districts over parents.
Harding said she now plans to take her complaint to the TEA and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
Harding said many parents have told her they’ve had similar experiences with Lorena ISD.
“They’re trying to scare me away, but it’s just fueling my fire,” she said. “If we all stand up, they can’t retaliate against all of us.”
