Winnsboro Independent School District Trustee Brandon Green will continue serving as board president, despite his recent arrest for failing to report a coach accused of sexually abusing a student and for tampering with evidence in the case.
The agenda for Monday night’s Winnsboro ISD school board meeting included reorganizing the board and selecting new officers amid a widening scandal that has resulted in six arrests—including Green and two superintendents.
In a split vote, trustees voted 5-2 against choosing new board officers, with Trustees Michael Walpole and Shavon Duffey voting for a reorganization.
The vote reflected the division within the community over how school officials have handled the sex abuse allegations since the June 2025 arrest of Winnsboro High School teacher and coach Nicholas Gabriel for having sex with a student and his fellow coach Jared Lancaster for failing to report Gabriel’s abuse.
Monday’s meeting was filled with around 100 attendees.
Many were there to support Green—including members of Walnut Street Baptist Church, where he is a deacon, and friends from Dallas, where Green works as a fire captain.
Others came to call for accountability.
Six people spoke on the scandal during public comments.
“When it comes to the students, you only have one job: to protect the children. You failed. You failed miserably,” said Winnsboro resident Rick Sainz.
Sainz revealed he is a survivor of attempted childhood sexual abuse and said officials’ coverup of abuse is a damaging legacy for Winnsboro students.
“You failed the students of Winnsboro, yet here you are,” added Sainz.
Retired Winnsboro ISD teacher Vicky Forgy gave trustees “a heartfelt thank-you.”
“We 100 percent support you. We support Brandon Green 100 percent,” said Forgy, adding that Green is “a man of great character” and “comes from a wonderful family.”
“It’s time for our community and our schools to heal and move forward,” said Forgy. “Enough is enough.”
“Good character does not cancel accountability,” said Chana Willis, a community member who also worked for the school district.
“As school board president, you hold a position of public trust that directly oversees the very system charged with safeguarding our students,” said Willis. “Continuing as president of the board of trustees breaks a public trust.”
Willis said Green remaining as board president “signals to the community, the parents, the students that the board prioritizes personal position over the protection of children and the rule of law” and “creates an ongoing conflict.”
“It undermines public confidence and trust in the board, and places the district under a continuing cloud that distracts its core mission. It forces the rest of the board and the district into an impossible position,” she said.
Willis said Green stepping down would “demonstrate character” to the community.
“Why don’t we just let this play out?” asked Mike Brown, a father with four children in the district.
Brown said he has “no concern” about dropping his kids off at any Winnsboro ISD campus, and he trusts “every single” board member.
“It’s absolutely time to move forward,” he said. “This community is sick and tired of the cloud over us … We need healing. The truth will come out in the end.”
“You’ve lost my trust,” another Winnsboro ISD dad, Cory Thompson, told trustees.
“Did you really not understand that you’re a mandatory reporter? Your wife is a principal. You’re a fireman,” he said to Green, and was admonished for directly addressing a trustee.
Thompson agreed the district needs to move forward and said Green’s resignation would help that happen.
Another speaker said he was surprised by allegations in a Texas Ranger’s affidavit that Green was accused of deleting cell phone messages with other school officials.
Green was arrested August 5 and charged with failure to report child abuse and tampering with physical evidence with intent to impair an investigation.
So far, six people associated with the Winnsboro ISD scandal have been arrested; five are charged with failure to report.
In Texas, all adults are mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse. Certain professionals, including school officials, face criminal charges if they fail to report alleged abuse or sexual misconduct within a specific time frame.
Failure to report is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. The offense is a state jail felony punishable by up to two years in jail if the failure to report is shown to be an intentional effort to conceal the abuse.
Questions and comments can be directed to Winnsboro ISD school board members.
Two school board seats, Places 4 and 5, will be up for election in May 2027.
Winnsboro ISD does not record its school board meetings, but Trustee Walpole recorded and posted meeting video on Facebook.
