Parents, educators and community leaders gathered at the Fort Worth ISD school board meeting Monday evening to voice opposition to the district reassigning a Muslim principal from her position.
FWISD reassigned Shayma Alzubi from becoming Western Hills High School’s new principal days after the announcement of her hire in late May drew backlash from conservative groups. Screenshots of Alzubi’s social media activity indicating her support of the Black Lives Matter movement, Palestinians and immigrants circulated online.
The district is currently investigating Alzubi after determining the posts may not align with the district’s social media policy and expectations for staff, Louis Kushner, chief of staff, said in a May 26 statement. Religious leaders and educators described the move last week as the result of an “anti-Muslim witch hunt.”
FWISD’s announcement of Alzubi’s hire, which is no longer on the district’s Facebook page, included a photo of Alzubi wearing a hijab.
A majority of the 20 speakers who signed up for Monday night’s public comment portion of the meeting spoke in opposition of her reassignment.
William Winston told board members he believes the district has mistreated Alzubi because she is Muslim.
“Your foolish decision regarding that principal has resulted in the demonization of Islam,” Winston said.
The retired Episcopal priest added that he feared the issue could be grounds for a lawsuit.
The school board turned off the microphone or interrupted speakers like Winston, who voiced their support for Alzubi.
Pete Geren, the president of Fort Worth’s school board, explained at the beginning of the meeting that because Monday was a special meeting, speakers were limited to items on the agenda. Geren also said speakers are encouraged to avoid naming individual employees.
“If people raise personnel matters, I’m going to ask that the mic be silenced and the person forfeit the rest of their time,” Geren said.
Fort Worth ISD leaders listen to residents during public comment at a school board meeting on June 1, 2026. (Marissa Greene | Fort Worth Report) Sabrina Ball, an activist and FWISD mother, noted the school district has continuously catered to what she deemed as dangerous ideology.
“Now you’re allowing extremists to define who is acceptable rather than reviewing the actual policies first,” Ball said.
Krista Schild, the Texas director of the Rise Align Ignite Reclaim Foundation USA, thanked the board members for “doing their due diligence” and told the dais they had her support.
The foundation describes itself on its website as a grassroots organization of Americans “leading a movement to reclaim our Republic” and Judeo-Christian values. The group’s acronym previously stood for “Resistance Against Islamic Radicals,” according to a Southern Poverty Law Center article from 2018.
“We’re here to support the school board members and say that we no longer tolerate radical ideologies in our kids’ education, and certainly not someone who’s in line, or personnel who are in line, with those radical ideologies and the organizations pushing them,” Schild said.
Fort Worth residents gather at a school board meeting on June 1, 2026, to protest against the district reassigning a Muslim principal in late May. (Marissa Greene | Fort Worth Report) Jennifer Droemer, a FWISD parent, asked the board members to reflect on the lesson leadership’s actions are teaching students like her son.
“This week of silence has allowed hateful attacks to intensify and spread,” Dramer said. “I cannot accept a lesson that teaches him that hate wins.”
A protester stormed into Monday’s meeting and yelled, “We need to stop sharia law in Texas.” He was consequently escorted out of the building by security.
Disclosure: FWISD manager Pete Geren leads the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, a financial supporter of the Fort Worth Report. FWISD manager Laurie George is a member of the Report’s reader advisory council. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
