The Millsap Independent School District superintendent has resigned following her arrest, along with two staff members, after a video surfaced showing alleged abuse of a special needs student. The school board accepted her resignation during a meeting on Monday night.
Millsap ISD’s board of trustees unanimously voted to accept the resignation of Mari Edie Martin Monday night.
The board considered suspending or terminating their contract with Martin after she was arrested and charged along with two other district employees in connection with the abuse of a child with autism.
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WATCH HEREThe family said they waited three weeks to get a meeting with the district after learning about the incident. Meanwhile, they reported it to the Parker County Sheriff’s Office and Child Protective Services.
“Your actions and inactions are inexcusable,” parents told board members about how they handled the investigation.
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SIGN UP It all started with a video secretly recorded of teacher Jennifer Dale swinging her hands toward a student, and aide Paxton Bean striking the same child with an object.
Both women were arrested. So was Superintendent Martin for failing to properly report the incident.
Dozens of families showed up at a board meeting Monday night where the board was going to consider terminating Martin’s contract, but at the very start of the meeting, the board delivered the news that a written letter of resignation had been received from the superintendent.
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Some parents called for termination, not resignation, but board members said if they moved forward with termination plans, it would be a lengthy process that would last several months, and the district would have to pay Martin and a lawyer to handle the proceedings.
The board said that if they accepted the resignation, it would all end immediately.
“If we accept her resignation tonight, then there is no severance, there are no benefits that come with that,” said Jon Hartman, board member.
The board voted unanimously to do so.
Parents questioned whether Martin would still be held liable, and board members said the investigations by outside agencies would continue.
Board members also promised an independent investigation into principals at Millsap Elementary and a policy to prohibit nepotism in the district.
Parents walked out pleased overall, including Carissa Cornelius, the mother of the child seen in the video.
“Oh, it was just a relief,” she told us after the vote. “So grateful that they listened and did what they needed to do to protect our children.”
