COMFORT, Texas — There is growing call for change in the small community of Comfort.
On Monday, heated conversations at a school board meeting turned physical in the parking lot when a board member attempted to run a man over, according to witnesses. KENS 5 spoke with the man and he’s okay, but the incident is shining a spotlight on Comfort ISD.
“For the last three years, parents have been voicing their concerns with our school board asking for more transparency,” said Amanda Hallmark, a Comfort ISD parent.
Families can’t point to one issue because, they say, there are too many. However, Hallmark says she can point to the source: the district’s leadership.
“We can’t get the school board to listen to us,” said Hallmark. “We can't get the administration to listen to us. So, it does get very disheartening.”
Parents say the problems began in 2018 when Dr. Tanya Monroe became the superintendent. Since then, families say grades have dropped dramatically, students who need special education are being left behind due to a lack of resources, and bullying and racist remarks are not being addressed.
“Our children are definitely not getting the quality services they deserve,” said Jennifer Rawlinson, a Comfort ISD parent.
According to the group, several teachers have left over mistreatment.
“It’s fear of retaliation,” said Avery King, another Comfort ISD parent. “You say something and are afraid of, ‘Am I going to come back to work and get in trouble with my job? Did I do something wrong?’ It just creates a lot of anxiety and fear in our teachers, and our teachers are the ones who have carried our schools for a long time.”
“In the four and a half years [Dr. Monroe] has been here, we have lost 44 teachers,” said Hallmark, “and several of those were tenured.”
“Some of those teachers retired,” said Rawlinson, “but the majority of those teachers went to Medina and surrounding schools. We are talking teachers of the year. I think five or six teachers of the year. Why are they all leaving?"
Parents started a petition calling for the removal of Superintendent Dr. Monroe, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jerry Adams and Director of Curriculum Angie Westerfield. It’s gained more than 1,000 signatures.
In response, Dr. Monroe's office released the following statement:
“The Comfort ISD Board of Trustees, Superintendent Dr. Tanya Monroe, and central office administrators are focused on providing the best education possible for the students of the district. At times, however, issues not directly related to the instruction of students or their educational well-being become topics of interest in the community. At a home basketball game on January 17, music containing racial slurs and sexually explicit lyrics was playing. Dr. Monroe directed the CHS game administrator to intervene to end the inappropriate music. The individual playing the music, a district volunteer, contended the music did not contain inappropriate content and left the game after the concerns were raised.
Since that incident, community members have called for the resignation of Dr. Monroe, trustees, and other district administrators. This campaign has included district officials and trustees being threatened, including informing these officials that "we know where you live." Disinformation has also been spread through social media, where district officials have been targeted and harassed.”
The Kendall County Sheriff’s Office says it is investigating Monday’s incident. No charges have been laid at this time.