Cy-Fair ISD trustee addresses controversial comments amid calls for his resignation

As calls grow louder for Cy-Fair ISD board member Scott Henry to resign over comments about Black teachers and dropout rates, he claimed at tonight's board meeting that his words are being twisted. Henry is being accused of equating the percentage of Black teachers in HISD with that district’s dropout rate. The controversial comments were made after he questioned the need for more Black teachers in Cy-Fair ISD following details of a district-wide equity audit. "The statewide average for black teachers is 10%," Henry said during a work session earlier this week. "HISD, which we’ll use as a shining example, you know what their average number or percentage of Black teachers is? 36%, I looked it up. You know what their dropout rate is? 4%. I don’t want to be at 4%, I don’t want to be HISD.”

At the board meeting, Henry said he's now getting death threats. “I will take responsibility for not saying it more eloquently,” Henry said. “Any suggestion that I said more black teachers leads to worse student outcomes is a lie, and those spreading it should be ashamed of themselves.” During public comments, a teacher said Henry's comments were personal for her. "It was practically said that teachers that look like me are the reasons kids drop out of school, do you even know who I am? Have you set foot in my classroom?" But Henry did have some supporters in the crowd. "Mr. Henry I want to thank you for seeing the audit report for what it truly is, political propaganda." Before the board meeting, community leaders joined the NAACP at a news conference to double down on their call for Henry's resignation.