CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Tuloso-Midway Independent School District superintendent Rick Fernandez is leaving the district.
The announcement of Fernandez's departure was made late Wednesday after the district's trustees met to discuss his employment.
Fernandez was placed on administrative leave in July, and whether or not to fire him was the only order of business on the agenda for a special called school board meeting.
Board members remained in closed executive session which began at 6:11 p.m. An announcement about Fernandez's departure was made more than four hours later.
When pressed for information about the superintendent's suspension and possible firing, board members said they couldn't comment on a pending investigation.
That was frustrating to two concerned TMISD parents, who wished that the district was more transparent for the reasons of Fernandez's departure.
"I just want to know basically the investigation results, if (Fernandez) was right what he did, and basically the truth," Silvia Henderson said.
“I’d be OK if they fired a teacher for doing wrong -- I mean anybody," Cindie Gonzalez said. "If he didn’t, why isn’t he allowed to do his job. And if he did, you need to show us the proof.”
Fernandez was placed on leave days before the Texas Education Agency announced that it's investigating TMISD for possible grade tampering, but it's unclear how or if the investigation is connected to the disciplinary action.
The board has scheduled another meeting for Oct. 6 to mutually settle Fernandez's suit with the district.
