A newly elected Cypress-Fairbanks ISD school board trustee is raising eyebrows for remarks he made about Black teachers and dropout rates.
When discussing the district's number of Black teachers, Scott Henry implied that a district's dropout rate is somehow tied to their percentage of Black teachers.
"The statewide average for Black teachers is 10 percent," Henry said. "Houston ISD, which I'll use as a shining example, do you know what their average percentage of Black teachers is? 36 percent, I looked that up. Do you know what their dropout rate is? Four percent. I don't want to be at four percent. I don't want to be H-ISD. I want to be a shining example. I want to be the district standard. I want to be the premium place where people go to be.
He made the remarks after a public presentation on the school district's equity and culture audit. In response, the chair of the Harris County Democratic Party Odus Evbagharu urged Henry to resign.
"It's important to recruit Black educators, & all this is going to do is damage that," Evbagharu told ABC 13. "We have to call this out for what it is. It's pure racism & he must resign."
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has also called for Henry's resignation.
"As a product of Cy-Fair ISD, I’m appalled by Board Member Scott Henry’s insinuation that more Black teachers lead to more dropouts," Hidalgo tweeted. "Divisiveness and racism are what’s hurting our students. Not diversity. Resign."
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner also joined those calling for Henry to step aside, describing his remarks as "unacceptable."
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