Granbury ISD board censures trustee accused of sneaking into library to review books

The Granbury ISD school board on Wednesday voted to censure trustee Karen Lowery after an investigation determined she accessed a high school library without authorization during a charity event and was untruthful when confronted by a school administrator.

The decision followed a contentious special meeting, featuring over two hours of public comment from more than 50 people and a raucous verbal squabble with Lowery and her board ally, Melanie Graft on one side and board president Barbara Herrington and superintendent Jeremy K. Glenn on the other.

“I can explain something to you, but I can’t understand it for you,” Glenn told Lowery at one point, electing jeers from Lowery’s supporters.

The 5-2 vote effectively served as a public reprimand. The board has no power to ask or compel Lowery to resign. Lowery and Graft voted against the censure.

Lowery was elected to the board last November on a platform of ridding school libraries of what she described as inappropriate books. Given the opportunity to speak in her own defense, Lowery denied wrongdoing.

“I was elected by the community and I will fulfill my campaign promises to the best of my ability until my term is over,” Lowery said before addressing Glenn. “So mister superintendent, I will be here another two years.”

The controversy comes as school districts across the country — especially in Texas — continue to face bitter division over the availability of library books containing themes including sexuality and race in schools.

According to an investigator’s report presented during the meeting, along with a summary written by Herrington after the library incident and obtained via a public-records request, Lowery walked into Granbury High School with another woman Aug. 2, as the school was distributing learning materials to economically disadvantaged children as part of the district-wide Operation School Supplies.

The woman accompanying Lowery, a parent of a student, told the clerk at the high school’s front desk her destination was the school’s cafeteria, where the school supply distribution was taking place.

The clerk thanked the women for taking part in the act of charity. Both Lowery and the woman instead walked to the school’s library — using a “less direct route,” according to the investigation presented by attorney Joey Moore.

Inside the library, both women went behind the librarian’s desk, using a phone’s flashlight to look through books. They were in the library for nearly an hour and a half.

Confronted by an assistant principal, Lowery identified herself as a school board member, according to Herrington’s summary, and said she had permission from the school’s principal and Glenn to be in the library, which both denied. Herrington said staff members felt the women’s actions were “sneaky.”

“I would hope that your actions were not as nefarious as some of the staff feel they were,” Herrington told Lowery in an email the day after the library visit. “Nothing good ever comes from an action that appears to lack transparency. If you want to go into the library to take pictures of the books, you should not have to hide in the darkness, but should make an appointment and go in and see what titles are on the shelf.”

District security personnel on Wednesday prepared for the possibility of a contentious meeting.

School marshals would not let anyone with bags or purses inside the meeting room. Everybody had to go through a security screening — a process that doesn’t exist for routine school board meetings — and one marshal said the board room had reached capacity nearly an hour before the 6 p.m. special meeting was set to begin.

Dozens of people who couldn’t make it into the room gathered to watch a livestream of the meeting on a TV in the building’s lobby. Those opposing Lowery wore stickers bearing the words “Resign Karen.”

During public comment, Lowery was excoriated by community members who called her a liar, said she betrayed the public trust and demanded her resignation. Faith Barnes described Lowery’s actions as “more dangerous to our students than any book in the library.”

Some suggested Lowery should face criminal charges.

“You should be bound by the same laws that everybody else is bound by,” Elizabeth Mercer said.

The superintendent, Glenn, later said he didn’t feel the conduct rose to a criminal act.

Robert Granger, who described himself as a right-wing Republican — “I mean, I am way out there,” he said ― said the issues surrounding Lowery have brought a sense of unity among community members of different political leanings.

Pointing out that parents are able to receive emails every time their child checks out a book, Granger asked Lowery to trust processes already in place. Others said Lowery’s singular focus on ridding the library of books has taken her focus away from more pertinent issues.

Lowery’s supporters called the board’s proceedings a “kangaroo court,” saying they don’t understand why a board member needs permission to access a public school, thanking Lowery for fulfilling her campaign promises and wondering whether Lowery clearly violated district policy.

“Mrs. Lowery,” said Denise Mayberry, “thank you for taking care of our children first.” She then recited the Lord’s Prayer.

Her supporters also included Granbury Mayor Jim Jarrett, who described the special meeting as an attempt to intimidate and harass Lowery.

The argument among board members before the vote turned was tense and emotional — at least one member of the audience was driven to tears — but both sides of the debate seemed to agree the meeting served as an embarrassing mark against the board and district.

“No matter what we do, we don’t win,” trustee Courtney Gore said. “The only people that pay the price for this, no matter what happens tonight, are the kids in this district.”