County Commissioner Calls Out Principal
Special to The Messenger
LATEXO – Precinct Three County Commissioner Gene Stokes made a surprise visit to Latexo Independent School District’s (LISD) board meeting Thursday, Aug. 29. The Messenger prints his statement with his permission:
“Good afternoon, (Latexo ISD) school board members. I’m here to talk to you about a situation that occurred Tuesday night at the volleyball game. A parent asked the principal of this high school about a recurring situation involving his daughter and the dress code. After the conversation with her ended, the principal approached the police chief of this school district in the parking lot asking why he was associating with such “sh..”(expletive) people? Then he was asked how could he talk and laugh with that “f…”(expletive) b…,”(expletive) referring to the parent he had the conversation with earlier. Then the principal proceeded to tell the police chief that he needed to be loyal to the principal and the superintendent because that’s who he works for.
“I guess the principal does not know the chief’s loyalty is to the constitution he swore an oath to, just like you and I have. But this seems to be a recurring theme here. The athletic director bullies the female athletes and female coaching staff. The administration bullies the parents and with all that, then the principal demands loyalty from the police chief. You should ask yourself, ‘Why?’ Is it because you would like to weaponize the police department against those who disagree with them?
“And then, even after reading first-hand letters from staff, students and parents, this school board decided to turn a blind eye to the situation, hoping it eventually would go away. But as luck would have it, it showed its ugly face again Tuesday night.
“So, I guess we know how they feel about women who question or disagree with the administration. I don’t see how you continue to tolerate such blatant disrespect and chauvinistic behavior. I’m asking the board to do the right thing and fix the problem.”
Stokes seemed to be referring to Latexo High School Principal William Dugat. Sources have confirmed Dugat has not been seen on campus since the incident, although the reason for his absence is unknown. Dugat resigned from Lufkin Middle School in 2018, after he posted inappropriate comments about illegal immigrants.
