Celina ISD parents confront school board over former teacher Caleb Elliott's alleged sexual misconduct
Celina school board members on Monday night faced more calls from the public for accountability in the wake of the arrest of a teacher and former coach for sex crimes involving dozens of students.
During a meeting, some parents demanded to know what's been done, if anything, to make sure their children are not exploited after a scandal over locker room videos emerged in October.
Parents demand answers and accountability from Celina ISD
"They were violated — what are you doing to make sure that never happens again?" one parent asked during the meeting. "We deserve to know."
The outrage isn't going away in Celina.
Parents continued to hammer away at the school board on Monday night over the investigation of Caleb Elliott.
He's a 26-year-old former teacher who's been in jail since October for allegedly secretly recording videos of middle school students undressing in a boys' locker room and forcing two of them to perform sexually explicit exercises.
"I want it to be known that I will not stand for my child to be viewed as a victim," a Celina ISD parent said in the meeting. "These kids shouldn't be reduced to that word. They have names, 39 and counting."
Caleb Elliott allegations spark concerns over student safety
Parents of Celina students, along with others, questioned why no new security procedures have been put in place yet to improve locker room supervision or restrict cell phone use among the staff.
"To my knowledge, there has been no comparable public communication addressed to this issue," said Aimee Enlow, a Celina resident. "I'm asking tonight for clarity, consistency and communication. Our children deserve to be safe at school, and parents deserve to know what's being done now to protect them."
Community questions leadership and board oversight
Other speakers say Celina ISD's handling of the investigation shows its board is unfit to lead.
"The big concern for me is no resignation from any of y'all," said Michael Conway, a Denton County resident. "Because my concern is: leadership starts with y'all."
"I don't think they've handled it well at all. That they're all still in place makes me question the accountability of what's going on," Conway said.
After public comments, the board members did not respond but instead retreated to an executive session, where we are told they discussed the multiple civil lawsuits related to Caleb Elliott behind closed doors.