KATY, Texas — Bullying has become a hot topic in school districts across the country, but apparently, it’s not just a student problem! Yeah, grown-ups are guilty, too, just ask Gregg Barrett, a Katy ISD graduate who claims he was bullied during a school board meeting.
The alleged bully is Katy Superintendent Lance Hindt and the incident happened, ironically, while he was speaking about being bullied!
“I started out and I had teachers who bullied me. I had kids that bullied me, even the coaches. I had nobody to turn to. One day at lunch, I had my head shoved in the urinal where it busted my lip,” said Barrett.
Barrett went on to discuss how alone he felt growing up, and then dropped a bomb.
“Lance you were the one that shoved my head in the urinal,” said Barrett.
Superintendent Hindt was so stunned by the accusation that he couldn’t do anything but laugh.
“It was difficult for me to listen to a gentleman Monday night recount a bullying incident he said occurred more than 35 years ago. As superintendent in three school districts in Texas, I have always tried to create an environment where every student is safe — physically and emotionally. But when an individual impugns my character and reputation as the instigator of those actions, I am disappointed because it simply is not true,” Hindt told NewsFix. “I do not recall this person from my childhood. I did not graduate from the same high school as Mr. Barrett, though we did attend the same junior high in 1978. And my junior high principal — Mr. McMeans — would never have let me (or anyone else) get away with the actions he described.”
Hindt went on to say, “I do not suggest that Mr. Barrett was not bullied, only that I was not part of it. Bullying is wrong. Period. It was then, and it is today. At Katy ISD, we are always looking for ways to make our campuses and our students safe. I am proud to lead a district that is not afraid to confront bullying behavior – whether in person or online. We are always challenging our teachers and principals to identify harmful behavior and to intervene as necessary.”
It’s a he-said, he-said situation for the Katy ISD School Board, and it is definitely an awkward situation.
