Parents blasted Rockwall Independent School District officials for their “horrific” handling of sexual abuse allegations involving a female pre-K teacher and a 4-year-old boy in her class, accusing the district of sweeping the scandal under the rug.
A total of 26 community members spoke about the sex abuse allegations during Wednesday night’s packed special school board meeting that included just one agenda item, a safety and security update.
The allegations arose last fall at Springer Elementary, but many families only learned about the alleged molestation and the teacher’s return to the classroom when the shocking story went viral last week on social media.
The boy’s parents, Corey and Tim Booth, had been advised to stay silent but decided to share their experience so unsuspecting families taking their children back to school on Monday would be aware of what happened and could demand changes in how Rockwall ISD handles abuse allegations.
“There is absolutely no reason that the other parents of the children in that classroom should not have been notified about what happened,” said Rockwall mom Sabrina Kosmas, addressing the district’s “horrific handling of the situation.”
“The safety of children should be a higher priority than the reputation of an adult,” Kosmas told trustees, reminding them that they work for the parents. “This district should make it the absolute highest priority to bring back transparency into the classroom.”
Parents at the meeting blamed school trustees and administrators for keeping families in the dark.
“I know this establishment and how everything works. Everything about Rockwall is swept under the rug,” 40-year Rockwell native Leslie Cunningham told trustees. “We have child pedophiles in our schools. This is not the first incident.”
“We deserve truth. We deserve transparency. These are our tax dollars,” Cunningham added. “I am absolutely disgusted. Do better.”
“If things keep getting swept under the rug, what is going to change?” asked John Steward, a father of three who pulled his kids out of Rockwall ISD.
Change is what the Booths and other parents are demanding from the district. They want more transparency, better communication with parents, and cameras in classrooms—not just in hallways and common areas as they are now.
Parents have also started an online petition calling on Rockwall ISD to make changes that will safeguard students from sexual misconduct.
A few speakers at Wednesday’s meeting defended the pre-K teacher, saying she was “unfairly accused” and had been “smeared” on social media.
“I know the real Jamie Palmer,” said one friend of the teacher, while another suggested that the Booths should be investigated.
A Rockwall grandfather who divulged that he had been a victim of sexual abuse told trustees he knows Palmer and found it “impossible to believe she did these things.”
However, others noted that sexual abusers are often unknown to family and friends.
Mom Jennifer Martin, who told trustees she moved to Rockwall 18 years ago for the school district, said her children had loved Cain Middle School orchestra director Marc Allison and often spent time alone with him. “To find out later he was a pedophile and to not have been informed about it was devastating,” she said.
After Allison was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2021, Rockwall County District Attorney Kenda Culpepper stated, “Bad people can hide in plain sight.”
Most of Wednesday’s public speakers supported the Booths and called for more transparency from the district, saying parents have a right to know when misconduct allegations are made against educators at their children’s schools.
They also questioned why the district allowed Palmer to continue working with the most vulnerable young students.
Rockwall dad Kendrick Lawrence told trustees he had just enrolled his daughter in pre-K at Springer and didn’t learn about Palmer until he saw parents sharing information outside the school Monday morning.
“They were just going to walk my baby into that class without saying anything,” said Lawrence.
Several parents kept their children out of Springer Elementary on Monday.
The District’s Safety Update
Before public comments Wednesday night, a string of district administrators provided a “safety and security update” defending how they responded to the sex abuse allegations.
The administrators claimed they “cooperated fully” with the Rockwall County Sheriff’s Office and only returned the teacher to the classroom after “four independent investigations concluded that the allegations were not supported by evidence.”
They also denied deleting any surveillance video or “intentionally” withholding any subpoenaed information. The Booths have maintained that the district attorney’s office told them a video showing Palmer keeping their son and another student in the classroom during recess was “deleted” before a grand jury could see it.
Administrators said the district “provided all video as requested” and only retains video files for 30-40 days due to storage limits.
The Booths reported the abuse on November 1 and were told Palmer and an aide were removed from the classroom and placed on paid administrative leave the same day.
According to the timeline presented by Rockwall ISD, on November 11 investigators with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (CPS) told the district they had “ruled out” the allegations and it was “reasonable to conclude the alleged abuse did not occur.”
On March 27, the DA’s office notified school officials that a grand jury “no billed” the case, declining to indict the teacher based on the evidence presented to them—which did not include the video.
Administrators said the district then completed its own investigation and “reached the same conclusion,” and Palmer was returned to the classroom on April 2.
District officials added that they did not have evidence of any misconduct that required a mandatory report to the Texas Education Agency.
Palmer was scheduled to teach pre-K at Springer again this year, but officials stated that she is currently on administrative leave due to publicity about the scandal.
Parents and community members questioned the administrators’ explanation.
“A ‘thorough investigation’ was concluded within 10 days?” Rockwall ISD mom Codi Chinn quizzed district officials.
“We drop our kids off at school and have an expectation that they are going to be safe. That trust has been broken. Your leadership is in question,” added Chinn, a member of the Fate City Council.
“The silence of this administration has been deafening,” a father of two Rockwall ISD students told the board.
He called the district’s lack of transparency “a systematic problem,” citing previous sex abuse cases and the district’s failures to notify parents.
If you’re doing a thorough investigation, you’re involving us the parents because you want to know, are there other victims… If we don’t know in real time, we can’t participate and help you.
The fact that this is coming out a year later, you have lost the opportunity with 4-year-olds to figure out if this is true or not true. And that falls squarely on the handling by this district.
Another dad whose daughter just started at Springer and who just found out about the abuse allegations noted that a “no bill” does not equal innocence. He held his child out of school on Monday.
The Booths Speak
Corey Booth, the mom who believes her son was molested by his teacher, was the twentieth speaker Wednesday night.
During impassioned comments that trustees allowed to continue beyond the two-minute limit, Booth filled in gaps in the administration’s account of the investigation.
Booth said the sheriff’s office told her their investigator had seen the video corroborating her son’s story. She said CPS closed the case before the video was purged, so they should have seen it too.
According to Booth, she asked CPS on November 2 to conduct a forensic examination of her son but was told “We don’t do that for boys.” Then she was told by a sheriff’s office investigator that they needed approval from a supervisor or the DA’s office to do an exam, which didn’t happen until just before Thanksgiving. By that time it was too late and no physical evidence was found.
The mom also shared a disturbing claim that her son told investigators his teacher had taken video of him, but the DA’s office told her “no good standing judge would ever take the testimony of a 4-year-old to get a warrant to access her phone.”
She also said investigators who first questioned the boy told the Booths they were hoping it was “the other teacher,” even though her son had clearly identified Palmer as the abuser and never accused the teacher’s aide.
“There is evidence,” Booth said. “What does a four-year-old have to say? What does he have to do? He still screams at night. He calls her a monster. He just told me yesterday, ‘Mommy, mommy, I had a dream about the monster.’”
Booth also told trustees she met with Springer Principal Andrea Olive, who told Booth “I don’t believe what your child is saying.”
“We were forced to come out because we had no other choice,” Booth said. “I could not have another pre-K student go through what my child went through just because it’s a good old boys club.”
She said schools should not be a safe haven for pedophiles; they should be safe for students.
“Do all the hard work and become all that you say you already are,” Booth implored the board. “Be a model for every other school district in the State of Texas and show them how it is done, because this is a systemic problem.”
Corey Booth received a standing ovation from the crowd as she concluded her remarks.
Her husband Tim Booth, the boy’s father, also spoke, delivering “a call to action” to Rockwall ISD officials.
“There is huge concern among the community about protecting our children. We must improve how the school addresses and reduces sexual misconduct,” he said. “It is time for the district to do better… Our first and most urgent demand is transparency.”
The procedures that govern how allegations of sexual abuse are handled should not protect the establishment. They were meant to protect the safety of the children, and the parents should have been notified.
“Our children are counting on us to protect them. Let’s not fail them,” he concluded.
On Wednesday night, a local newspaper published a press release submitted by the district that restated administrators’ talking points during the meeting but did not mention concerns raised by parents and community members.
The Booth family posted a response Friday morning to Rockwall ISD administrators’ statements.
Parents plan to speak again at the next regular school board meeting on August 19.
At that meeting, trustees will also vote to place $847 million in bonds and a tax increase on the November 5 ballot.
Questions can be directed to the Rockwall ISD board of trustees.
The full August 14 school board meeting can be viewed here.
No ads. No paywalls. No government grants. No corporate masters.
Just real news for real Texans.
Support Texas Scorecard to keep it that way!
