Westlake school district faces lawsuit from parent over diversity and inclusion initiative

The Eanes school district, its board of trustees and its superintendent are being sued over actions taken during and around two school board meetings in the summer of 2020. That summer, which was marked nationwide by weeks of protests after the murder of George Floyd, also marked the start of the district’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiative. Parent Christie Oates, who filed the lawsuit, alleges that the school board violated the state’s open meetings act by discussing the hiring of consultant Mark Gooden in private before voting on the matter publicly. Parents opposed to the initiative have made similar arguments for months, and members of the school board and district staff have said that no secret meetings or decisions took place. Oates, who has been outspoken in her opposition to the diversity initiative, is asking that the school board’s vote to hire Gooden be thrown out as invalid. She also is asking the district to cover the cost of her legal fees.

The Texas Open Meetings Act requires government entities to provide the public access to proceedings and decision-making processes. The lawsuit claims that during the early days of the diversity initiative, the district deprived residents in Eanes of their right to observe how and why decisions were reached. “Decisions were not made in the open and during board meetings. To the contrary, secret deliberations and walking quorums were conducted outside board meetings,” the lawsuit reads. “As a result, parents, students, and other residents of the Eanes ISD were deprived of their opportunity to learn about or participate in their government.” A district spokesperson and members of the school board said they could not comment on ongoing litigation. Oates did not respond to requests for comment. Her lawyer, Andy Taylor, said the purpose of the lawsuit is to hold the district accountable for the alleged violations of the law in Gooden's hiring, which he said has led the district away from it's "long history of academic excellence" and caused distraction and disruption. "The kids and teachers have been the real victims of this violation of the law," he said in a statement. "By holding the school board and Superintendent accountable for their illegal actions we hope to have the contract with Dr. Gooden voided and all curriculum and recommended trainings and content removed from the district."