Godley ISD staff member on leave pending misconduct investigation, officials say
After parents of students in the Godley Independent School District made social media posts about a staff member grooming their daughters, the district and the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office have confirmed there is a pending investigation into the allegations.
Bailie Petty, one of the mothers who posted about the investigation on social media, told the Star-Telegram that she is disappointed in how the Godley ISD administration and police department have handled the situation.
She said the district was made aware of the teacher’s behavior dating back to at least March of this year.
Petty said while the staff member wasn’t one of the girls’ classroom teachers, he was a cafeteria monitor during lunch and made inappropriate comments to the girls about their appearance, asked at least one girl to sit on his lap, and made other suggestive remarks to them.
She said he also made inappropriate comments about a student to another teacher, who then reported him.
School officials “told them [the girls] that they were making a big deal of it, and he was a sweet old man, that they needed to calm down,” Petty said. “Basically, it was reported to multiple teachers who also went to the principal of the sixth-grade campus, and that is all the girls were told, that you’re making a big deal out of this.”
She said the teacher was not supposed to be around the girls since they’re not in his class, but he went out of his way to interact with them.
Petty said these incidents have made her outgoing daughter feel anxious about going to school. She frequently asks to stay home or calls to be picked up early.
Godley ISD officials wrote in a statement on social media Tuesday that they are aware of the posts about the staff member.
The district said the staff member, whose name has not been released, was put on administrative leave until the investigation is complete. No criminal charges have been filed.
“As required by state law, the district promptly reported the matter to the Texas Education Agency (TEA), the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), and appropriate outside law enforcement agencies,” district officials said.
“The Johnson County District Attorney’s Office is currently leading the investigation,” the district said in the statement. “Godley ISD continues to cooperate fully by providing requested information and referring all inquiries to that office.”
Parents said they made reports to the Godley Police Department, who directed them to the school district’s police department because the alleged incidents happened on school property.
“Allegations of possible teacher misconduct were forwarded by GISD PD to the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office to investigate,” Police Chief Dusty Vinson said in a statement. “At no time did Godley PD participate in any type of investigation.”
The Johnson County DA’s Office confirmed in an email that there is a preliminary investigation and the office was made aware of the situation last week and has been in contact with the school district and its police department.
“We are in the early stages of the investigation and have no details to share at this time other than we have the full cooperation of both the Godley Independent School District and their Police Department,” the District Attorney’s Office said.