On June 8, 2022 the Magnolia ISD School Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) met and unanimously voted to adopt the controversial Good-Heart Willcox Health Text Book. The chairman of the committee stated after the vote “from here we go on to getting the board approval before we can purchase”. Community members present at the meeting were stunned that a supposedly conservative district would adopt such a book that repeatedly referred to those as pregnant as “pregnant persons”. Following the SHAC meeting activists went to work educating the community of a possible school board adoption of the textbook based on the SHAC’s recommendation at the next board meeting.
At the Magnolia ISD July 11th Board meeting community members were handed a letter on behalf of the SHAC textbook adoption stating that the SHAC is not responsible for adopting the health textbook and that it was sent to a Textbook Review committee that did not support it.
A public information request asking for the names of the textbook review committee, the minutes to their meetings, their recommendation/referral to the school board where the book was rejected showed “NO RESPONSIVE DOCUMENTS“. So as of today the Magnolia ISD School district has a textbook review committee with no names, no committee minutes, no referrals to the school board, etc. This so called committee is made up of unicorns, fairies, and Easter bunnies. In layman terms the Magnolia ISD School Board and Superintendent falsified information and lied to the community… AGAIN! Trust me this is not the first time this board and administration have chosen to lie to their constituents it has become a common practice.
All official documentation shows that the SHAC is to present their recommendations to the School Board not a textbook review committee (especially one that doesn’t exist). According to Magnolia ISD’s own board policy EHAA (see below) it states in #4 The SHAC shall present its recommendations to the Board at a public meeting. There is no mention of a Textbook review committee.
According to Texas Education Code 28.004 dealing with the School Health Advisory Committee it states
(e) Any course materials and instruction relating to human sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases, or human immunodeficiency virus or acquired immune deficiency syndrome shall be selected by the board of trustees with the advice of the local school health advisory council and must:
I find no mention of a Text Book Review Committee as touted by the Magnolia ISD School Board.
At the July board meeting school board president, Chuck Adcox chose to entertain those in attendance with his own personal rant stating “That textbook was shot down in committee and I argue this is better what it shows is the people in our committee know our community and know it would not fly” Seriously? This statement was a LIE because there is no such committee who shot the textbook down. The committee that did approve the book was the SHAC Committee and the board approved all the members that sit on it who represent the board’s values.
Not only did the school board lie Magnolia ISD Superintendent, Todd Stephens lied as well propagating bogus claims of a textbook adoption committee being part of the process.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R13jpj1VZU4&t=20s
Dr. Todd Stephens
Magnolia ISD School Board Members
Proverbs 14:5 An honest witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies.
