Douglas County School District
The Humble ISD board of trustees voted 6-1 on Tuesday night to uphold the termination of longtime Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen, according to a spokesperson for the Houston-area school district.
Fagen, who began working for the district in 2016, had appealed the board’s decision to fire her in July. Tuesday’s vote was based on the recommendation of an independent hearing officer, who determined that Fagen failed to perform her duties as superintendent, most notably as it pertains to a Title IX investigation into her husband, Troy Kite, Humble ISD’s former athletic director.
Kite retired in April, one day before the school board was set to consider firing him over allegations of violating federal law and creating a hostile workplace environment through sexually charged banter. Fagen, who at that time was in the running for a superintendent job in Nevada, was placed on administrative leave by the Humble ISD board in May.
The attorney who represented Fagan in the appeal hearing earlier this month, Kevin O’Hanlon, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Wednesday. He told the Houston Chronicle he planned to appeal Tuesday’s board decision with the Texas Education Agency.
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Robert Sitton was the lone Humble ISD trustee to vote against upholding Fagen’s termination. The board also voted to make acting Superintendent Roger Brown the interim superintendent, and to have the job opening for the permanent superintendent’s role posted by Monday, according to a district spokesperson.
Humble ISD serves nearly 50,000 students in northeast Houston.