Why this Fort Worth school trustee wants a parent’s complaint about her heard in public
Fort Worth trustee Ashley Paz is the focus of a grievance hearing before the school board Tuesday — a process underway because a Daggett Montessori parent filed a complaint questioning her role in a campus rift about the principal.
It’s a hearing Paz requested to take place in public.
“I believe in, and have strongly advocated for transparency and open government for many years now,” Paz said in a statement on her Facebook page. “This should be no exception. I know the timing isn’t opportune, but I would like to ask you, my friends and supporters, to consider attending. Transparency and open government only work if people are paying attention.”
The hearing is the only issue listed on an agenda for the special meeting called for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the district’s school board complex at 2903 Shotts St. It is expected to take place in open session as Paz said she waived her rights for the procedure to be held in closed session.
The grievance, filed Aug. 8 by Daggett Montessori parent Heather Leaf, followed concerns last summer that the district would move Principal Veronica Delgado. Delgado, who remains at the helm of the campus, was both criticized and praised by parents about her leadership at the school.
“I filed a grievance against Trustee Paz because I believe she improperly used her position as a school board trustee to remove the principal on our campus. In doing so, she impeded the educational advances of our most struggling students,” Leaf told the Star-Telegram.
Daggett Montessori sits in District 9 of the Fort Worth school district. The campus, at 801 W Jessamine St., is a public Montessori program that serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
District 9 stretches from the Near Southside through downtown Fort Worth and winds its way north through the Riverside neighborhood into parts of the Diamond Hill pyramid. The district includes Carter-Riverside and Trimble Tech high schools.
During the 2017-2018 school year, the Montessori campus had 507 students. The majority of students, 54.8 percent, were Hispanic. White students were the second largest student demographic at 32.9 percent while African-American students were the third largest demographic at 7.3 percent.
Paz, who represents District 9 and has children who attend the school, declined to answer questions before the hearing. However, she issued a statement on social media.
“Like it or not, when you become a public servant you open yourself up to public scrutiny,” Paz said. “I’m not the first school board member to go through this, and I certainly won’t be the last. In this case that means a formal investigation, which is still ongoing to my knowledge. Although this is not how the public grievance process has worked in the past, this is how members of the board have elected to handle this matter this time. I have happily complied with each step and will continue to do so.”
Last summer, the campus atmosphere at Daggett Montessori was an ongoing concern — one that drove some parents to address the school board. While worries covered different themes, they centered largely on potential school leadership changes being considered for the 2018-19 academic school year.
Some parents said they were worried about a racial rift that emerged and a subsequent lack of action by the school administration. Others questioned whether the district’s plans to move the principal was best for academics, including putting in a supplemental program aimed of boosting reading.
Billy Moore, a parent at the school, told trustees last summer that the campus had undergone a drastic change in culture. Teachers, students and parents were no longer working together in the way they had in the past, he said, adding that racism had emerged.
“There is a distinct rift that has formed racially between students,” Moore told trustees during the public comment section of the July 17, 2018, meeting. “I don’t believe the current administration at that school is doing what they need to do.”
Moore said students of color were victims of racial comments, adding that Hispanic students were being told to “Go back to their country.”
Leaf was one of two parents who spoke favorably about school administration.
“Our principal has a newfound passion for Montessori education,” Leaf told the board. “Her vision for DMS and the district is contagious.”
Clint Bond, spokesman for the district, said the administration took in information from parents to determine what was best for the school.
“That decision was to keep the principal in her current assignment,” Bond said in an email.
Moore said parents who complained about the racial incidents were not trying to get the principal moved or to end the reading program. Instead, they wanted the school administration to address their concerns and act as a “check and balance.”
“We wanted the principal and vice principal to admit what was going on and to see what they had in place to fix it,” Moore said, adding that this year’s efforts to improve the situation appear to be working.
Moore, who plans to attend the hearing, said he doesn’t think Paz overstepped her boundaries in her position as trustee in this case.
“Last year was not a shining point at our school,” Moore said.
Another parent, Breinn Runnels Richter, said the campus is trying to move forward from last year’s tension.
“There’s no denying we’ve had our challenges on the DMS campus, specifically regarding racial equity and bullying issues (not only within the student body, but also faculty, staff and parents), and although we have made some progress this year, there is much work to be done,” Richter told the Star-Telegram in a text message.
“I personally support Trustee Paz and feel that it’s unfortunate that she’s having to defend herself against claims that she’s misusing her power. From my experience, she’s been a passionate advocate for our most vulnerable students, and continues to do so, even amidst ongoing scrutiny.”
In July, Paz announced on social media that she asked the Texas Education Agency to investigate allegations by a parent that she was delving into school personnel matters. She alluded to that effort in a statement recently posted on her Facebook page.
“Remember, I was the one who invited an independent review about this last summer,” Paz said in the statement. “I will not be commenting on the details of the grievance prior to the hearing. It would be inappropriate for me to do so. I will also not comment on issues related to students or personnel out of respect to the privacy of the individuals involved.”
Paz was first elected to the board in 2013. She was re-elected to the post in May 2017. In the fall of 2017, Paz was the leading advocate for an ethics policy that was rescinded months after it was approved by the board.
This story was originally published January 7, 2019 at 1:33 PM.
