College Station ISD school board members approve administrator contracts after hearing criticism from public speakers

This podcast contains comments from the April 15, 2025 College Station ISD school board meeting.The photo with this podcast is Rock Prairie elementary school principal Jeff Durand addressing the board.College Station ISD (CSISD) school board members at Tuesday's meeting (April 15) without discussion, unanimously approved the superintendent's recommendations for administrator contracts for the next two years.That was after ten public speakers asked the board to reconsider the decision to reassign the principal at Rock Prairie elementary.Also speaking was the principal who will be removed, Jeff Durand, and one of his children.Durand said among other things that "I'd like to hope that a small outcome from all of this is that everybody begins to understand just how difficult the role of a campus administrator is." He also said "I sincerely hope that this interest in the well being of our campus and district continues long after this evening." He also said "it's time to focus all this energy and concern away from my future and towards the future of all of our schools in this district, moving forward as best as we can." He concluded by saying "We have just about five weeks left in this year and I would like to be able guide my campus through those weeks with as much joy as I can muster and as much support as I have witnessed recently. The students and the staff deserves no less."Board president Jeff Horak said after the public speakers that "I'd like to acknowledge the community's interest and concern regarding the recent leadership decisions within the district. We feel it is important to provide the clarity about the expectations of our campus leaders and (the) process by which these kinds of decisions are made. While the board of trustees does not take action on these kinds of personnel decisions, we are made aware of the personnel matters including any concerns or actions being taken by district administration to support, coach and evaluate campus leaders. Throughout the support process campus leaders are made aware of expectations and potential outcomes. The intent of this process is to provide ample opportunity to continue in their role to be successful in leading their school community. As a district we hold our leaders to a high standard. And when the standards are not met we have a responsibility to take action that prioritizes success of students, staff, and campuses."There was a total of 16 public speakers. Five others criticized CSISD central office administrators of making changes that added to the workload of teachers and accused the central office administrators of retaliating against teachers who spoke out.The public speakers received cheers and applause from a standing room only crowd. The remarks were watched by more than 400 viewers on CSISD's YouTube channel.The only board comments came from the president. There was no response from CSISD employees.