Report recommended Round Rock schools superintendent not be reinstated
An investigative report of Round Rock school district Superintendent Hafedh Azaiez that was presented to the school board before it voted to reinstate him in March recommended that he not be retained.
The report was obtained by the American-Statesman on Friday through an open records request.
In the report, Ann Dixon, who was hired on Jan. 6 to conduct a third-party investigation at the "underlying conduct" of a protective order filed against Azaiez, said the superintendent had two active investigations by the Travis County sheriff’s office as well as an investigation by the Texas Education Agency.
In the report, Dixon also wrote that Azaiez had failed to inform the school board about the protective order or about an extension of it, "leaving board members to believe the issue has been resolved." It said he also did not inform the trustees about the TEA investigation.
"I could not come to conclusions regarding the Travis County sheriff’s office investigations or the State Board of Educator Certification actions," Dixon wrote in her report, "but the divisiveness created in the community by Dr. Azaiez’s behavior and the lack of Dr. Azaiez to be forthcoming with information has created a failure to establish a positive working relationship with the Board of Trustees."
No charges have been filed against the Round Rock superintendent.
MORE: Round Rock trustees put superintendent on paid administrative leave, approve investigation
A spokesperson with the TEA on Friday said there is an open investigation regarding Azaiez.
The report was made available to the school board on March 8. Despite Dixon's recommendation, the board on March 24 voted 5-2 to bring Azaiez back from paid administrative leave. Trustees Mary Bone and Danielle Weston voted against the decision.
The board deliberated for half an hour in executive session over whether to reinstate Azaiez, fire him or provide him with a separation agreement before they made their decision.
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Azaiez's attorney, Mary Nix, said she had not yet seen the report and could not comment on it, but said that the Travis County sheriff’s office told her several months ago that is had closed its investigations of Azaiez. "I’m not aware of any other active investigations," Nix said.
In a statement on Friday, school board President Amber Feller said that when the trustees voted to reinstate Azaiez, there was no active investigation or charges forthcoming.
"As board president, I believe the Board of Trustees made the right decision in the best interest of the District. We can no longer be influenced by rumors and innuendo circulated by those who seek to drive out Dr. Azaiez for their own purpose," Feller said in an email. "It is time to focus on the students and staff of Round Rock ISD and allow this experienced educator to do his job. This is nothing more than an unwarranted distraction perpetrated by those who seek to undermine public schools.“
In response to the release of the report, Weston said on her Facebook page that in voting no to reinstating the superintendent, she had called out the "bad decisions" the board has made.
"By definition, the board majority calls all the shots. They hired then reinstated the superintendent,' Weston said in the post. "All Trustee Bone and I can do is vote 'no' on their misguided priorities. Bad decisions by the board are routine as evidenced by the majority’s decision to reinstate the superintendent after reading the Dixon Report. Things are getting worse, not better, at the hands of this board majority."
MORE: Round Rock school board extends time to receive report on investigation into superintendent
Azaiez had been on leave since Jan. 6 after the board, acting upon recommendations from the Texas Education Agency, authorized the independent investigation in connection to a protective order issued against him.
A Travis County judge issued the temporary protective order against Azaiez on July 30, and it expired on Dec. 15, according to court records. According to Dixon's report, Azaiez agreed to a permanent protective order on Dec. 13.
In the report, Dixon said she conducted three weeks of interviews with 22 people, and reviewed text messages, emails, police reports and other sources.
Azaiez, previously a superintendent for the Donna school district in South Texas, was hired in June 2021. He signed a three-year, $350,000 annual base-salary contract. That same month he was named the Region One Superintendent of the Year by the Texas Association of School Boards.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Report recommended Round Rock schools superintendent not be reinstated
