Sharyland schools chief to quit; sexual harassment alleged

NEAR MISSION – The Sharyland school board voted unanimously Monday to accept Superintendent Scott Owings’s resignation amid allegations that the district chief sexually harassed two female subordinates last week.

Though the board just last month extended his contract until July 2015, the seven-year superintendent’s resignation, which Owings tendered earlier Monday, will take effect this June, said district general counsel Ivan Perez.

Owings did not return multiple voice mail and email requests for comment, and a district spokeswoman said he had not shown to work all Monday.

But two sources close to the school district independently confirmed that Owings decided to leave his post after sexually harassing at least two school officials at a Texas Association of School Administrators conference last week.

After exiting a more than one-hour, closed-door session, trustees refused to explain why they accepted his resignation and permit him to lead the district until June. And board President Ricky Longoria did not return calls for comment on why Owings would continue to collect on his $165,000 salary in spite of the sexual harassment allegations.

His fellow board members deferred all questions to Perez, who said the issue was a “personnel matter.”

Texas school district policies commonly maintain robust privacy over personnel matters unless the involved employee prefers otherwise.

The sources, who requested anonymity due to the privacy policies, said Owings made inappropriate advances or comments to a campus and central office administrator after drinking too much at a dinner in Austin last week.

The superintendent reportedly made a joke about one official’s sexual history in front of her husband. And he also gave his hotel room number to an assistant principal, suggesting the female subordinate could earn a promotion if she met him later that evening, the sources said.

The Monitor filed a public information request with the district Monday for all records related to complaints lodged against Owings this year. The administration confirmed receipt of the request, but The Monitor did not receive any records by press time Monday.

Under state law, public agencies have 10 days to satisfy public information requests or appeal to the Texas Attorney General for an exception.

After the vote, Trustee Fred Ramirez, whose seat heads to an election this year, offered little insight into why he seconded Trustee Rolando Peña’s motion to accept Owings’s delayed resignation.

“We direct all questions to general counsel. Unfortunately that’s the decision we’ve come to,” he said. “It’s the best thing for the district to move on.”

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Neal Morton covers education and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at nmorton@themonitor.com and (956) 683-4472.

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