Killeen’s top educator clarified how the local school district categorizes family violence cases and, specifically, when such cases should be reported to school administrators if an employee gets charged by police in such a case.
“If an employee is charged with a felony family violence assault, yes, he or she should report it to the school district,” Killeen ISD Superintendent John Craft said late Wednesday in response to questions from the Herald. “If an employee is charged with a misdemeanor family violence assault, the district will follow advice of counsel about the employee’s duty to report. Again, the district will follow appropriate policies and procedures while assessing each situation individually.”
The topic has been widely discussed in Killeen during the past few days after it was learned KISD spokeswoman Taina Maya was charged with misdemeanor assault-family violence last week at her home in Waco.
On Oct. 16, Maya told the Herald the incident was not among the “reportable offenses” that requires an employee to notify the district, per KISD employee policy. Still, she said she told Craft about her arrest following the Oct. 14 domestic dispute with her husband, who was not charged in the case.
Craft’s latest statement neither agrees or disagrees with Maya’s claim that the charge is a non-reportable offense, instead saying KISD “will follow advice of counsel about the employee’s duty to report.”
However, not all Killeen school board members necessarily agree.
“Dr. Craft needs to address this situation in the same manner that he would if it were another employee, void of preferential treatment because of her position or gender sympathy,” Board Member Susan Jones said Wednesday, “The KISD policy states ‘Acts constituting abuse or neglect under the Texas Family Code’ and given the affidavit statement of ‘Assault’ I would argue that this was a reportable offense.”
Earlier this week, Craft said “the question of whether or not (Maya) had to report it is immaterial” since she did report it him.
However, to others, Maya’s initial claim that it was a non-reportable charge — and that she has remained in her job since then with no disciplinary action apparently taken by KISD — has some people claiming there is a double standard going on in the Killeen school district.
“It’s a shame that the KISD school board members will not discipline this lady,” said Steve Pain, who identified himself as a KISD taxpayer. “If a student did the same thing in school they would be punished and removed from the school. She’s in a leadership position and kids look up to her.”
A former local news anchor, Maya was hired in July 2019 with a salary of more than $136,000, making her among the top-paid employees in KISD.
A Herald story posted Wednesday about KISD leaders reacting to Maya’s arrest generated nearly 100 comments on Facebook in less than 24 hours. Here’s what some of them said:
Amber Lyles: “Wow! If it had been a regular teacher or a bus driver they would no longer be employed! Mind blown”
Jeff Thompson: “I used to work for the district , I have seen people fired for much much less”
Michael Cotten: “Every taxpayer needs to contact each member of the school board and let them know where we the taxpayers stand in regards to tolerance of domestic violence in our school district. It seems some have forgotten what ‘no tolerance’ means.”
Stacy Girdy: “Let her stay, we all make mistakes. Put her on some type of probation period and make her prove herself”
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