Galveston ISD Superintendent resigns after controversial comments made
GALVESTON, Texas - The Galveston Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Jerry Gibson has resigned from his position after an agreement was made during Monday's school board meeting.
It stems from alleged sexist comments he made during the groundbreaking ceremony of the district's new high school.
In a recording by a Galveston County Daily News reporter, Superintendent Gibson allegedly called women '"worker bees," who take care of the details of the project, but, "we need a man to push this through."
A handful of both parents and students spoke before the board during the public comment period. Some believe his comments have been blown out of proportion.
"Is this the way we've been running the school district?," said Archie Hart, a GISD parent. "Or was this a simple, you know what if I had that to do over again, I'd do it differently. Everybody here and everybody behind me has done that."
However, Nicole Obert, another GISD parent who spoke before the board considered that opinion "gaslighting", adding, "My daughters and all of the other young women and girls in this school district deserve to hear an adult in this community say clearly and publicly that their gender does not define their value or their ability to lead."
"When they work hard, they do not need to wonder whether they need to find a man to push through whatever goal they hope to attain," she continued.
The school board went into an executive session around 6:30 p.m. to address the matter privately, and the agreement wasn't made until midnight. That's more than five hours of deliberation.
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That agreement was to allow Gibson, who has been superintendent since 2021 to resign effective June 30 while also receiving a $70,000 severance payment. The board voted unanimously to do so.
School board president Anthony Brown said they will begin an immediate search for an interim superintendent who will be someone outside the district to get them through the search for a permanent replacement.