Fort Worth ISD principals board voted to fire over fraud claims are now retiring, resigning
Two former principals in the Fort Worth Independent School District, who the Board of Education had voted to fire in September after both were accused of fraud and one was accused of racist treatment and sexual harassment, are now retiring and resigning from their positions.
James Garcia and Katrina Smith, former principals of Diamond Hill-Jarvis High and Eastern Hills High, are respectively retiring and resigning from their positions after they had appealed their proposed terminations to the Texas Education Agency, according to local and state officials and Garcia’s attorney.
The educators’ employment with Fort Worth ISD officially ends about three months after multiple community members, teachers and students called on the district to reinstate Garcia and Smith and defended their leadership during the Sept. 26 board meeting. At the meeting, trustees discussed their dismissals in a closed session and voted in favor of their terminations with no public discussion.
Public records later obtained by the Star-Telegram showed allegations that both Garcia and Smith had committed fraud related to the purchase of certain goods at their respective high schools from funds that were part of a federal award. Although the records did not reveal what goods were purchased, how much they cost or who the vendors were, the district claimed Garcia and Smith submitted fraudulent merchandise quotes for purchases by allowing one vendor to provide competitor quotes, instead of the educators obtaining separate quotes directly from each vendor.
Garcia and Smith had “allowed a specific vendor to establish a barrier to open competition among qualified vendors,” and there was no evidence “that any of the purchased goods were ever delivered as ordered,” the records state.
Smith was only accused of fraud, but Garcia was additionally accused of racist treatment and sexual harassment that was reported by a female employee at Diamond Hill-Jarvis High in the fall of the 2022-23 school year, according to the records. An outside law firm investigated the claims and found that Garcia “made race-based comments and jokes on a consistent basis and was present frequently when other (Diamond Hill-Jarvis) personnel made impermissible and unacceptable race-based remarks.”
The investigation also found that Garcia made “sexually-tinged comments” toward female employees and “unwelcome comments of a sexual nature,” the records state. He also was accused of making false statements to investigators when asked about making “racially-tinged” comments or jokes or failing to intervene when others made similar comments, as audio recordings confirmed the alleged statements and behavior Garcia denied.
After the Board of Education approved Garcia and Smith’s proposed terminations, they appealed the decision and each obtained private legal counsel. Now, TEA officials have confirmed that both Garcia and Smith filed motions to dismiss their appeal cases, which were approved respectively on Nov. 6 and on Dec. 1, records show.
Smith’s hearing before an independent hearing examiner was set for Dec. 4, “but both parties reached an agreement and settled,” TEA officials said.
Additionally, Garcia had already been planning to retire at the end of the semester “before this entire situation started,” his attorney, Tiger Hanner, told the Star-Telegram in an email.
“With his retirement, the legal proceedings became moot and the parties dismissed the proposed action,” Hanner said. “The parties have agreed not to proceed with the termination process.”
Hanner confirmed Garcia had been suspended with pay since the Board of Education’s vote in September. It’s unclear whether Smith was suspended with pay or without pay.
Neither Smith nor her attorney Nate Washington responded to requests for comment by phone.
Guadalupe Barreto, a retired principal, has been serving as interim principal at Diamond Hill-Jarvis High since Aug. 28, and Lewis Washington, another retired principal, has been serving as interim principal at Eastern Hills High since Aug. 21, according to Fort Worth ISD spokesperson Cesar Padilla.
It’s unclear when permanent replacements for Garcia’s and Smith’s positions will be selected, he added.
“The two associate superintendents over the campuses have been working through our principal selection process and will be conducting interviews over the next few weeks,” Padilla said. “Due to the current qualified interim administrators on the campuses, they will make sure to take their time to find the best candidates for the campuses.”
