Controversial principal leaves Houston ISD’s Madison High school

The Houston Independent School District’s board has “approved the resignation and full and final release agreement" of the principal of James Madison High School, who had been the subject a student walkout last fall. Trustees voted 8-0 Thursday night to accept the departure of Carlotta Brown, under terms discussed in a closed session. Trustee Myrna Guidry, whose district includes the school, abstained from voting. Houston ISD officials did not release any information about the agreement. Brown, who began her stint as Madison’s principal in early 2019, had been in the news several times in the last three years, including most recently last November when she and others temporarily were reassigned following a student walkout. The students called for the removal of Brown, as well as coaches alleged to have made sexually explicit comments on an audio recording that circulated via social media.

The district last month appointed Kasey Bailey, most recently a school support officer, as the interim principal of Madison for the remainder of the school year. She previously had served as principal of Lawson Middle School. “HISD will seek community input as we choose who will be the next principal of Madison High School,” district officials said in a Jan. 11 statement. “Because this is a personnel matter, HISD can not comment further.” The district plans to select an interview committee during the spring semester as part of its search for a permanent principal, Assistant Superintendent Yolanda Rodríguez wrote in a letter to parents. Brown garnered media attention in 2015 when Peck Elementary, where she served as principal at the time, received $100,000 in recognition of the school’s service to homeless students during a live presentation on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”