“I have a worry in my heart that only gets worse with the fear of my kids,” said Rachel Martinez, a parent of four. “I think no one here today can deny that there was a major failure on May 24. Where are these failures, that is the question?”
The 77-page “interim report” described “an overall lackadaisical approach” by nearly 400 local, state, and federal law enforcement officers who went to the school as the second deadliest shooting at a K-12 school in the United States. Were.
The report comes after law enforcement agencies as well as local officials learned on a piecemeal basis a lack of transparency and victims’ families what more could have been done to save their loved ones.
Those present in the meeting that lasted three hours on Monday night were pointing fingers at the board.
Parent Brett Cross asked the board why Arredondo, who was on administrative leave, was not fired.
“Why does he still have a job with you all?” He asked. “Are you going to fire him?”
District Superintendent Hal Harrell replied, “We will take the report into account. It will be a closed-session decision.”
Harrell said the board was awaiting investigative information to help make a decision.
Several other speakers also called for the board to eliminate Arredondo, who has said he did not consider himself the commander of the incident, according to the report, echoing comments made to the Texas Tribune last month.
Young student says she wants to feel safe before going back
Tina Quintanilla-Taylor introduces her daughter Mehle, who told the board she wore the same outfit she wore to school on May 24.
“This was the last dress all my friends saw on me [sic],” she said.
Martinez, a parent with four children, asked the board if he was going to take responsibility for the May 24 failures.
“Are you going to fix it?” He asked.
She wondered what the options would be if students and parents didn’t want to go back to school, adding that her daughter had said she was “very scared” about going back to class.
“I can assure you that my children are not mentally ready to return to campus and my husband and I are not ready to send them. I speak for my children but I am not ready for the rest of the parents in the community. I speak for those who feel the same way.”
Jazmin Cazares, sister and high school student of shooting victim Jackie Cazares, said that while nothing could have been done to bring her sister back, the school board could make changes to prevent other families from losing children. She also questioned how safe she could feel.
“I’m going to be a senior. How am I supposed to get back into this school? What are you guys going to do to make sure I don’t have to see my friends die,” she asked. “What are you going to do to make sure I don’t have to wait 77 minutes to bleed on the floor of my class like my little sister?”
may be delayed to the next school year
When asked whether the district would consider online learning, Harel said it was under discussion. “We are looking into it. And there are some structures that have to be installed. But yes, we are looking into it and it is one of the things we are looking at.”
The school board has also recommended delaying the start of the school year to address security issues such as door locks.
“We are not going back to that campus,” Harrell said during a special board of trustees meeting, and added that he expects to have a new address for the school “in the near future.”
“Our kids, our employees, we’re not going back.”