Parents are asking why Sherman Independent School District hired a teacher who was reprimanded by the state and resigned from a nearby district over alleged grooming of a female student.
Mary and Wiley Alexander—parents of the girl targeted by then-Tioga ISD teacher Brad Strickland—spoke on the record at the beginning of Monday night’s Sherman ISD school board meeting.
“Do Sherman parents know his history?” asked Mary Alexander.
The Alexanders previously filed grievances accusing Strickland of grooming their daughter while she was a student in Tioga ISD, from 2020 until she graduated in 2023.
Immediately after graduation, their daughter moved in with the Stricklands.
Tioga ISD finally placed Strickland on administrative leave on October 13, 2023. Following a Level 3 grievance hearing on October 16, Tioga Superintendent Josh Ballinger allowed Strickland to resign on November 20 but he continued receiving his full salary and benefits through February 15, 2024.
The Texas Education Agency placed a “reprimand” on Strickland’s teaching certificate in April 2025. While a reprimand serves as a red flag, it does not prevent a teacher from working in a government school.
Sherman ISD hired Strickland at the beginning of the 2025-26 school year to teach special populations at Sherman Middle School, including dyslexic students.
On Monday night, the Alexanders questioned why Sherman ISD had hired Strickland after he was forced out of Tioga ISD and received a state reprimand.
“Groomers influence parents, other adults, and their victims to believe they have good intentions to win your favor and to make them least suspect,” Mary Alexander told trustees.
She noted that Strickland was allowed to resign, not fired, “even though compelling evidence proved he violated multiple teacher behavior standards and the Educators’ Code of Ethics.”
“TEA then gave him a reprimand, a mere slap on the wrist, for the multitude of offenses he committed,” she said.
Strickland and his wife had frequently communicated with the girl outside school hours, as she would babysit the couple’s child. But the Alexanders also found photos showing inappropriate touching by Brad Strickland, as well as “romantic” voicemails and suggestive SnapChat messages.
“What’s astonishing is he admitted those were his notes, his hand in the photos, his voicemails. Yet he didn’t seem to believe he did anything wrong. What’s even more astonishing is that he is employed by you now,” said Mrs. Alexander.
She then asked trustees:
- Did anyone here question the reprimand status on his certificate?
- Do you realize the risk you’ve assumed in employing him?
- Are we so desperate these days for teachers that someone with his history is put back in a classroom and that students are placed at risk?
- Do Sherman parents know his history? What will be their reaction when they find out their child was in his class or maybe even just down the hall? Will they believe their kids are safe at school?
“And final questions … What if it had been your daughter, your family, that had been his victim? Would you want him teaching your children?”
“I urge you to reconsider your appointment of Brad Strickland. Why TEA did not revoke his certificate is beyond me. Thank God we have an inspector general for educator misconduct now,” she concluded.
Mary’s husband Wiley Alexander also addressed school board members about Strickland.
“As you know you have a teacher working for you now with questionable history, and we all know that history repeats itself in some form or fashion,” Mr. Alexander told trustees.
“People have to stand up and say this guy should not be in front of children,” he said of Strickland. “The question is, what are you guys going to do about it?”
I don’t know if any of you interviewed him when he was applying for a job here, but did he actually tell you why he was forced to resign from Tioga? If he didn’t, that is an opportunity for him to be terminated. If he did, maybe some of y’all or whoever interviewed him should be questioned on why they let that slide.
“Because that to me, that’s pretty important,” he added. “That’s the big question. These are your kids we are talking about.”
The Alexanders said they have been estranged from their daughter Abby for the last two and a half years.
Mr. Alexander said she moved to Sherman a year after graduation and got involved in political campaigns.
Social media posts show she was involved in the 2024 primary campaign for Grayson County District Attorney John Kermit Hill, along with Sherman ISD Trustee Paul Manley’s wife, Lindsey Manley. She also endorsed Sherman ISD Trustee Brad Morgan in his 2024 reelection campaign, calling him a “mentor.”
Abby, who is now 21, later married Hill.
Sherman ISD spokeswoman Meghan Cone told Texas Scorecard on Tuesday that Bradley Strickland was hired “with knowledge of the reprimand on his teaching certificate.”
“A reprimand does not affect the validity of an educator’s certificate,” stated Cone. “Texas Education Agency determined that Mr. Strickland would receive a reprimand and not a revocation of his teaching certificate. Sherman ISD sought and received references from his previous district during the hiring and vetting process in accordance with established policies and procedures.”
In a February 9 response to a public information request, Ballinger stated that Sherman ISD did not request a reference for Strickland from Tioga ISD.
Ballinger added, “If Sherman ISD pulled Brad’s reference from a ‘pool of applicants’ managed by Education Service Center Region 10, I would not know if they had that access.”
Families can direct questions and concerns about Strickland to Superintendent Thomas O’Neal, Sherman Middle School Principal Max Smith, and/or the elected board of trustees.
Sherman ISD’s May 2026 school board election was canceled after incumbents David Tarvin (Place 6) and Wendy Vellotti (Place 7) filed for reelection with no opposing candidates.
