Two Cedar Hill ISD band leaders have left the district amid allegations involving former students.
The school board had been set to discuss terminating “for good cause” band director Derrick Walker, who also served as director of fine arts, and assistant band leader William Johnson before their departure.
Cedar Hill High School Principal Courtney Washington shared the news in a letter Wednesday morning, her second in as many weeks on the same topic.
“As word of this news reaches our families, we know there will be a range of emotions,” she wrote. “We will continue to encourage our scholars to reach out and talk to our counseling staff to help them process the events of the past few weeks and the uncertainty they may feel about the remainder of the year.”
She said federal privacy laws prevent her from sharing details about personnel or the departure.
Last week, Washington told band parents in a letter that "two of our band directors” had been placed on leave pending the results of a police investigation into “allegations involving former students."
“At this time, there are no allegations involving current students,” that letter said. Washington said the district is cooperating fully “with all authorities.”
Details into the allegations weren’t offered and no one was named.
In her latest letter, Washington encouraged students to talk to counselors to help “process the events of the past few weeks.” She said the district is seeking qualified replacements for the band directors in order to “continue the tradition of excellence our Red Army Band is known for.”
She acknowledged it may take time.
Cedar Hill police could not offer any more information. In a statement, a spokesperson said the department is "aware of the allegations involving a Cedar Hill ISD employee and a former student and is currently conducting an active investigation."
The news comes amid a spate of accusations against teachers across North Texas.
Earlier this week a fifth Celina ISD employee was placed on leave as the district faces allegations of misconduct involving a high school wrestling coach and teacher. At least two law suits have been filed against district leadership related to the allegations.
Bill Zeeble is KERA’s education reporter. Got a tip? Email Bill at bzeeble@kera.org. You can follow him on X @bzeeble.
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