The Itasca ISD school board voted unanimously Monday morning to suspend Superintendent Michael Stevens immediately and begin the process to fire him. Stevens, 47, was arrested last week for online solicitation of a minor near Houston.
Harris County Constable Alan Rosen says Stevens started communicating with someone he thought was a 15 year old girl.
"He sent pictures of his private parts and asked for nude videos and images in return," Rosen said in a video posted to Facebook.
In the video, Rosen said some of the videos "appeared to be taken in [Stevens'] office."
Stevens was arrested. Monday afternoon, he was still listed as being held in the Harris County Jail on $100,000 bond.
Monday morning, the Itasca school board called an emergency meeting. The school board went into a private session to talk about Stevens' contract with the district's legal counsel.
About 90 minutes later, the school board returned and voted unanimously to suspend Stevens immediately with pay. The board also voted to begin the termination process and report Stevens' arrest to the Texas Education Agency.
"Most importantly, the board is confident based on all the facts known to date, there are no connections between the allegations made against Mr. Stevens and students at Itasca ISD," School Board President Brian Bassett said after the vote. "Our students are safe and will continue to thrive and succeed with the dedicated attention and service brought by our outstanding parents and staff."
Stevens became Itasca ISD superintendent last year.
The board also voted to reestablish Keith Boles as interim superintendent. Boles served in the same role last spring as the district conducted a search that ended with the hiring of Stevens.
In a letter to parents last year, Boles said he had retired in 2019 after spending 32 years in education. Boles said he had served as superintendent in five districts for a total of 22 years. He said his wife is from West, about 15 miles south of Itasca, and they had retired to West.
"Mr. Boles previously served the district in this capacity and is well-known and respected by our community," Bassett said.
Several Itasca residents attended the board meeting Monday morning.
"We just want to support our community. It's devastating," one woman said.
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