SOUTHLAKE, Texas - A group of Southlake parents have ramped up their fight after learning that Carroll ISD is delaying adapting its new diversity plan.
Those parents, led by former Dallas Cowboy Russell Maryland, met with the mayor of Southlake this week, saying their concerns over race relations in the district are being put on the back burner.
”Apparently, a small vocal few do not like the plan, and they don’t want it to move forward,” Maryland said.
Maryland, a memorable force on the gridiron, is now tackling a hotbed social justice issue in the city of Southlake.
He helped draft the now-stalled cultural competency action plan, a proposed ordinance the school board is considering in wake of allegations of racially charged incidents within Carroll ISD that date back years.
Those incidents include hate speech, bullying, and social media videos with students seen chanting racial slurs.
This week, Maryland and four other parents asked Mayor Laura Hill for a meeting.
“We went to the mayor, basically saying, ‘Hey, you told us to step up, now can you practice what you preach,’” Maryland said. “We worked on the plan for 18 months. COVID slowed us down, now it seems like the council is slowing us down.”
Some in the community have said publicly that parts of the proposed plan promote radical LGBTQ+ agendas.
In September, a restraining order resulting from a parent’s lawsuit accused several school board members of inappropriately taking part in a group text, which she said violated the Texas Open Meetings Act.
The complaint says: “Defendants violated the Open Meetings Act when they took action… private text message communications regarding the various off-agenda actions the Board could take regarding the plan.”
“It may be a violation of the Open Meetings Act, but it further delays the work that needs to be done in order to protect the kids here in Southlake. Not just minority kids, but all the kids here in Southlake,” Maryland said.
Maryland said this week’s meeting with the mayor was positive, but the frustration persists.
“We are more than frustrated. To put it lightly, we are exasperated at all of the things that have been going on here in the city,” he added. “The real problem didn’t start with the plan a couple of months ago, it started with our kids, kids that look like my kids were called the N-word constantly over the years.”
FOX 4 reached out to Mayor Hill for her reaction to the meeting with Maryland and the other parents. She has not yet responded.
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