Tensions began to rise between board members and residents during the McKinney Independent School District’s board meeting.
During public comments on Monday, residents came up to speak about the unsafe conditions children are facing in McKinney schools. However, during comments, some of the board members were disrespectful towards the speakers and other board members.
The first resident to speak was Donald Danielson, who is the grandfather of Jacob Sollars—a special needs child who was allegedly assaulted while in fifth grade by another student who yelled at him, “You stupid white boy.”
Danielson condemned the trustees for their lack of accountability and empathy, saying, “Unfortunately, stories like my family’s seem to be a recurring theme and simply seem to not be a priority.”
Jacob suffered a concussion from the attack, and his parents say that school officials failed to inform them of what happened. According to Kayla Sollars—the boy’s mother—there have been efforts to resolve the issue between the various parties, but the district has engaged in persistent retaliation efforts.
On September 5, the district denied requests for redress, leading to a pending complaint before the Texas Education Agency.
Following Danielson’s comments, Trustee Chad Green tried to ask the grandfather a question regarding a policy the board was voting on that would authorize the superintendent to email parents when a student has committed an act.
Trustee Stephanie O’Dell interrupted Green’s question, repeatedly saying, “You are violating the Texas Open Meetings Act.”
When Green continued to ask his question, O’Dell once again jumped in and asked if the board could eject him from the meeting.
McKinney resident Kyle Sims was the next speaker. He expressed his frustration with the board for previously mocking him at a January meeting when he told trustees there was a problem with sex trafficking and brothels in McKinney.
Sims recounted that the former board president had laughed and mocked him and asked if “the bus stopped at any brothels?”
At that time, the president was referring to a February incident in which a McKinney ISD bus driver went off route and took a bus full of young children several miles down the freeway, ending up in Allen.
McKinney ISD emailed parents the next day, stating the bus driver was new to the route and “mistakenly diverted from the route, which led to delays in students arriving at their afternoon bus stops.”
The brothels Sims was referring to are the estimated 35 in the city, with 500 women advertising sexual services in the area.
Earlier this month, McKinney ISD notified families that another bus driver, Scott Simmerman, had been arrested in Plano for soliciting a prostitute.
“If y’all are serious about protecting our children, why don’t you start with the children that are being abused, the stories we hear every day in public schools,” Sims said. Sims then referred to multiple instances of abuse cases in other school districts that have come to light in recent weeks.
Sims then turned his attention to O’Dell, who allegedly was smiling while he was speaking of the brothels.
“Go ahead and laugh,” Sims said.
“I like to smile,” O’Dell replied.
“No, Stephanie,” Board President Philip Hassler interjected.
“You like to smile, but you don’t like to be accountable,” Sims continued. “Y’all ought to be ashamed of yourselves.”
The discussion then moved into last month’s Title IX debate, when Trustee Green motioned for the board to vote on supporting young girls by not allowing biological boys to compete on girls’ sports teams or enter their locker rooms. Hassler called for a second, but none of the six other board members seconded the motion, resulting in it dying before discussion.
Resident Samuel Hall spoke on the issue at Monday’s meeting, saying girls in the district are under attack. He urged Trustee Lynn Sperry to join Green and be the “voice of reason” on the board.
“I think it’s apparent that today our girls are under attack. Our female students are under attack, not just in sports, but in their everyday school life.” Hall continued, “Mrs. Sperry, again, you’ve been on this board a very long time. There needs to be a voice of reason other than Chad Green on this board.”
