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PHOTO BY LAURIE ANDERSON
Drippings Springs High School club leaders presented to the board about their various groups.
PHOTO BY LAURIE ANDERSON
The board congratulates Wes Anderson on advancing to state for cross country.
The Board of Trustees for Dripping Springs Independent School District held its regular meeting on Nov. 17.
The evening started off with a Learning Spotlight from Dripping Springs High School (DSHS). Principal Angela Gamez introduced the topic, “Belonging,” which is one of the four DSHS core values.
“When I was thinking about what we’re most proud of at the high school, it is the connection our kids have to the school, and not just in the classroom, but in everything they do,” Gamez said.
Gamez said that in addition to UIL teams and organizations, the school has over 70 active clubs.
“We have tons of places for our kids to get connected, and they’re entirely run by our students,” Gamez said. “They’re the ones making the decisions for how they want to connect with our school community and how they want to connect with each other.”
Some of the groups represented included Hope Squad, Unified Champions, PALS, International Student Leadership Club and Student Council. Student representatives from each group spoke to the board and told them a little about their club and their experiences with the organization.
Next, the board recognized senior Wes Anderson, who recently competed at the state meet for cross country. Coach Stephen Morales said that Anderson had a phenomenal season in the extremely competitive 6A district. Anderson placed 55th at state, out of 152 runners.
After reports from the trustees, it was time for public comments. There were two speakers, and both addressed the board regarding the recent termination of bus driver James Miguez, who is best known to parents and students as Mr. Andy.
Miguez was the first to speak. While he said he had not intended to come to the board meeting, he decided to come with encouragement from parents and fellow bus drivers, some of whom were at the meeting with him. He talked about the challenge of driving a bus with 30-50 kids on it, and the discipline issues that arise - students throwing food, standing in the aisles, and changing seats, all while the bus is in motion.
While personnel records are not public, from Miguez’s comments and those of his supporters, it appears that there was physical contact between Miguez and one of the students on his bus.
“There’s no excuse,” Miguez said. “But sometimes you have reasons that you do certain things.”
Marquez said the student involved had been in trouble multiple times for behavior issues over several months, but despite efforts to address the situation, nothing had changed.
Parent Carie Fielding was the next to speak. She said her daughter had been a rider on Mr. Andy’s bus. She said she signed up to speak out of a concern for fairness, safety and accountability across the district.
“Mr. Andy followed procedure, moving the student to the front of the bus and notifying appropriate parties of the behavior with written notices, but parent contact reportedly went unanswered, and no meaningful corrective action was taken to address the ongoing safety issue on the bus,” Fielding said.
She said Mr. Andy was put into an escalated situation that could and should have been prevented.
“I understand physical contact with a student is a violation of policy. I’m not asking you to ignore that. What I am asking is that you acknowledge the bigger context,” Fielding said. “The system failed long before the driver did.”
Fielding requested that the board review the policies, communication processes, and disciplinary follow through that led up to this event.
“Please consider whether termination was the only appropriate consequence or whether a more balanced approach, such as retraining, suspension, or corrective support would better reflect the reality of what had happened,” Fielding said.
She said she and her husband are fully in support of the rehiring of Miguez, and wanted the district to put safeguards in place so that a situation like this doesn’t happen again.
“Bus drivers should never be placed in a situation where a lack of parental or administrative response leaves them carrying the full weight of behavior management alone,” Fielding said.
Dr. Stefani Reinold, board president, thanked the speakers and thanked Miguez for his service to the district, and said DSISD’s priority remains providing a safe, supportive, and trustworthy environment for students, staff, and families.
“While we cannot share specific personnel details, we do want to assure our community that the decision was made following a thorough review, and in accordance with our district policies and procedures,” Reinhold said.
Up next, the board moved into the action items for the evening. First was the approval of library acquisitions, which is now required by law after the passage of Senate Bill 13. The board received the list and heard an update from Alicia Maphies, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, about the new process. After brief discussion, the board approved the purchases.
Finally, the board approved several items regarding construction projects at various DSISD campuses. Each passed 7-0.
The next board meeting will be held on Dec. 15.
