It came with little or no warning. 36 year-old Superintendent D鈥橝ndre Weaver resigned as DeSoto鈥檚 superintendent, almost exactly two years after first taking the job.
In a specially-called meeting Sunday over Zoom, the school board voted 4-3 to accept the resignation agreement. No details about the agreement were provided.
Weaver then addressed the board.
鈥淚 just want to thank this board and the board members that brought me on two years ago now.鈥� Weaver said. 鈥淭his has been a dream to serve DeSoto ISD. I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity to do it. When I started here it was a challenge. But we worked through so many challenges and I am confident that today we are in a better place than we were when we first started.鈥�
Weaver thanked DeSoto鈥檚 mayor and school district employees. Under the district's previous superintendent David Harris, DeSoto ISD struggled with a $21 million deficit. Weaver laid people off and closed a campus to save money.
鈥淚 am confident this district will continue to move forward,鈥� Weaver said. 鈥淎nd I am just honored to have been a part of that process.鈥�
Weaver did not say what he plans to do next.
The DeSoto school board installed Don Hooper as the acting superintendent. Hooper had already been working with the board to help fix the district鈥檚 finances.
The Texas Education Agency could still appoint and install a conservator to oversee the district.
Weaver's resignation comes after a TEA audit found financial mismanagement and possible illegalities during Harris' tenure that led to the multi-million dollar deficit.
The DeSoto board members called a meeting on Aug. 20 to hear comments from the public on the TEA鈥檚 report. It alleges criminal mismanagement of taxpayer funds by employees, failure by the board to exercise its fiscal oversight, and failed accounting procedures that led to the shortfall.
The report cites lax purchasing guidelines and excessive spending on district credit cards. Further, the report criticizes the school board leadership for failing to address problems earlier.
Upset citizens weighed-in during the virtual board meeting. More than a dozen speakers voiced their displeasure.
Got a tip? Email Reporter Bill Zeeble at bzeeble@kera.org . You can follow him on Twitter @bzeeble.
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