Members of the State Board of Education joined Lorena parents in calling for accountability from school district officials over their handling of a pre-K teacher sexually abusing young students.
SBOE members Pat Hardy and Evelyn Brooks spoke during Monday night’s school board meeting in Lorena Independent School District.
Both addressed parents’ concerns over how reports of sexual abuse were handled by district administrators, including Lorena Primary School Principal April Jewell and Superintendent Joe Kucera.
Pre-K teacher Nicolas Crenshaw went to prison in 2023 after admitting he sexually abused two girls in his classroom who were ages 4 and 5 at the time. Parents of one victim then sued Jewell and the district, alleging the principal and others ignored warnings about Crenshaw’s behavior. A third alleged victim has since come forward and corroborated the accusations.
Lorena ISD officials have maintained they did nothing wrong, and Jewell still has her job.
Parents posted video on social media of Monday night’s public comments to the school board, as the district does not broadcast or record its meetings.
“I am here because we have a state epidemic and a national epidemic, and this has to do with the children who have been victimized by pedophiles, and this is going on in a lot of places,” said Hardy, who represents SBOE District 11 in North Texas.
Hardy told Lorena ISD trustees that the adults in this situation must be held accountable.
“Too many times this is just slipped under the carpet,” Hardy said. “And there are always adults who are responsible beyond the person who is actually the pedophile.”
Hardy, who spent many years as a school teacher, said she has “grave concerns” about the case, and the district needs to get a “clean record” by “exposing who did what, when.”
“The children need to have justice,” Hardy concluded.
Lorena parents have organized a community group called Justice For Jane, named after the victim in the lawsuit who is identified as Jane Doe to protect her privacy.
For months, group members have been bringing attention to the allegations contained in the sex abuse lawsuit by posting on social media, holding community events, engaging with local media, and speaking at school board meetings (which a Lorena mom has asked Kucera to livestream or record).
They have also contacted state lawmakers and traveled to Austin to speak to the State Board for Educator Certification. Jewell’s SBEC-issued teaching certificate is under review by the Texas Education Agency over the sex abuse case.
Many parents have called for Jewell to be fired or at least placed on administrative leave while the case against her is litigated. A federal district court denied Jewell’s motion to dismiss the case based on “qualified immunity,” but Jewell is appealing that ruling to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Brooks, whose SBOE District 14 includes Lorena, called Monday for building “bridges and not walls” and said listening to one another “is of utmost importance.”
“I hope that this is put on the map for what it looks like for a community to partner with its leaders in order to do the right thing for our children,” Brooks added.
Last month, Brooks spoke privately with Lorena ISD officials about the sex abuse scandal that continues to shock the community.
Afterward, Kucera released to the public a timeline of events he’d created for Brooks.
However, district parent Rachel Eason noted that Kucera’s “relevant timeline” was missing important dates, and she created a more complete sequence of events.
“It was helpful to see two leaders for education in the state support our group,” Lorena dad Lane Wakefield told Texas Scorecard. “They didn’t drive down from DFW because our school board is handling this well.”
Lorena parents are keeping pressure on the district to be more transparent and responsive to their concerns.
They are also considering new representation on the Lorena ISD school board.
Seats held by Trustees Denny Kramer and Kevin Taylor are up for election in May 2025. Eason confirmed to Texas Scorecard that she is planning to run.
