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Former principal makes complaint

Navasota schools Superintendent Jennings Teel will hear a complaint against him by the former high school principal Wednesday.

Teel said Tuesday that he plans to hear Shawn Elliott's grievance during a private meeting, per the district's policy.

Elliott was Navasota High School's sixth principal in the past 5 1/2 years, until he was reassigned as director of student affairs last month.

Teel said he would not know the specifics of Elliott's complaint against him until Wednesday.

"Discrimination might be part of it," Teel said. "We won't know for sure until tomorrow."

Elliott was the school's first black principal since 1988.

Navasota school board trustees ruled that Elliott's complaint did not warrant a board hearing at their December meeting, board president Hollis Hood said.

Hood declined to detail Elliott's complaint against Teel.

"[Discrimination] was one of the basic complaints, but the board didn't find any issue there that we could come up with as far as what was presented," he said.

Hood said Teel was within his authority when he reassigned Elliott. If the two cannot work out their differences, Hood said, the board will hear Elliott's complaint again at a board meeting.

Navasota's grievance procedure gives the superintendent 10 days to respond in writing after Elliott's complaint is presented.

Dissatisfied complainants can take their grievance to the board, which would hear the complaint during a board meeting, according to district policy.

In a separate section dealing with discrimination, the district's policy states that "an employee shall not be required to report prohibited conduct to the person alleged to have committed it. ... A report against the Superintendent may be made directly to the Board."

If a report against the superintendent is made, the policy states, the board shall appoint a person to conduct an investigation.

Hood said it was reasonable to ask Elliott to take his grievance directly to Teel, and he didn't think giving Teel an opportunity to address Elliott's complaint first would present a conflict of interest.

"Certainly what we're expecting is, yes, he will be unbiased," he said. "But there's also that avenue that if somebody doesn't feel like he's been unbiased, then there's another step that can be taken."

Elliott did not respond to e-mail or voice message requests for an interview.

Teel declined to give details of why Elliott was reassigned Tuesday.

"There were a number of issues there," Teel said. "The bottom line is that there was a feeling that the students' needs at the high school were not being met."

Elliott has continued to collect his annual salary of $85,000 per year.

In his new role, Elliott oversees transportation, staffing and compliance issues, along with the childhood nutrition department, alternative education programs and other student-related services, Teel has said.

In announcing the reassignment last year, Teel emphasized that the new role was not a demotion.

Trustees emphasized when Elliott was hired in April that they were searching for someone who would stay at the high school for an extended period.

Retired Principal Charles Hebert has been filling in as interim principal since Elliott's move Dec. 1. Teel said he will begin the search for a permanent replacement sometime next month. He said he would like Hebert to remain as principal, but Hebert has not expressed interest in the position.