GRANBURY, Texas — Editor's note: The video above is from a report on Jan. 23, 2023.
Granbury ISD’s school board rejected a plan to require school board members, administrators and staff to report suspected criminal incidents.
The vote follows WFAA’s continued reporting that assistant superintendent Jimmy Dawson repeatedly used the school district’s airplane to take trip with his family. Dawson said the trips were practice.
District documents revealed Dawson flew three times with students in roughly a year and a half but flew with his family seven times in that period.
The district voted at its last meeting to sell the plane.
Trustee’s Melanie Graft and Karen Lowery were behind the new policy and the two votes in favor of instituting it following the community concerns around the plane. According to the school board agenda, the policy would be added to the Granbury ISD school board handbook.
“We were told we could do nothing about it because we had no policy,” Graft said in Monday’s meeting. “There was no investigation by local law enforcement.”
Board member Billy Wimberly pushed back on the idea that the plane was used illegally.
“I disagree that there was a violation. That’s your opinion,” Wimberly told Graft. “If you believe that’s the case, you should’ve called law enforcement, called them in and have them check that out.”
Superintendent Dr. Jeremy Glenn said that the proposal was not currently part of the district’s policies but that he expected district employees to follow similar guidelines already.
“Make no mistake about it, if I feel like a law has been violated, I would absolutely notify law enforcement,” he said.
Graft said she was informed by district leaders that attorneys would review the policy for issues before it was placed on the agenda. Glenn said that did not occur, though.
Lowery said she had hoped the new policy would minimize confusion on reporting issues to law enforcement and provide clarity to district employees.