Parent publicly alleges hiring failures in Clemens High School case, urges accountability

During the meeting's public comment period on Aug. 19, Angela Libertore addressed the board with allegations about the district's hiring and supervision at Clemens High School and how those actions affected her family.

Libertore said assistant principal Jenny Becca (identified in her remarks as the Clemens official involved in the hiring process) had been the hiring official who should have checked references and the application of an employee she later says committed crimes against Libertore's daughter. Libertore told trustees she had been raising the issue since May and that Becca had been relocated to Steele High School rather than terminated.

Libertore described items she said were red flags on the employee's application and resume, including a June 2020 resume entry stating the applicant had resigned from his previous school and an annual pay cut of about $21,000 between jobs. She said the applicant listed an athletic coordinator rather than the prior school as a supervisor and that the employee had a documented history of performance problems from the first year, including a probationary contract. "This isn't a training issue, it's just stupidity and laziness," Libertore said. She told the board she believed the board had been informed previously about the staff member's termination or resignation and that the district reported the matter to the Texas Education Agency in April 2022.

Libertore urged the board to explain why administrators who, in her view, negligently hired people who later harmed students remain employed. She said she had found other files indicating three other people who she said had negligently hired offenders and asserted that those staff members "are all still here." Libertore concluded by saying the case would likely cost taxpayers money once criminal proceedings conclude.

The board chair reminded Libertore when her three-minute public-comment time ended and moved on to the next speaker. The trustees did not respond on the record during public comment; subsequent administrative or investigative steps, if any, were not announced during the meeting.

Note on reporting: these statements are Libertore's public allegations as delivered during the meeting. The board record does not contain a trustee response or an announced administrative finding in the transcript. The article does not assert the truth of the allegations outside Libertore's statements.