My statement to the Cranfills Gap School Board

The following remarks were presented in a personal address by me to the Cranfills Gap Independent School District school board members in an August 2007 meeting. These remarks were directed to Cranfills Gap school board members Kenny Wiese (even though he was absent), Jeff Rose, Kathie Witte, Shelly Stuart, Virgil Tindall, and Jackie Ray Sorrells:

 "I am Kaitlan Head's aunt, and I am sister to Charles Head and Sue Lee. I did not know much of what was going on in Cranfill's Gap until May of this year. Some shameful and downright hateful things have been done, and whether you admit it or not, none of these problems existed until Superintendent Carla Sigler came to town. Carla Sigler saw you as either friend or foe. If friend, there was nothing she would not do FOR you. If foe, there was nothing she would not do AGAINST you. I believe Carla Sigler saw an opportunity to retaliate against someone she considered a foe--- Sue Lee--- by punishing her niece, the 2007 Cranfill's Gap valedictorian Kaitlan Head, with the harshest punishment possible-- even if it went beyond what the law and school policy called for. I believe that Kaitlan did do wrong and should have been held accountable, but that the punishment meted out by Superintendent Carla Sigler and the Cranfill's Gap school board did not fit the crime. Other students did wrong, also--for proof of that, you can listen to the tapes and hear it from Carla Sigler's own mouth----Yes, other students did wrong, also---and NOTHING----NOT ONE THING---was done to them. They were not punished at all. No student was held accountable for their actions except Kaitlan, and that proves beyond a doubt that it was retaliation.

The valedictorian and her family have paid a terrible price. I hope your family never has to pay such a price. I believe that Actions have Consequences, and Negative Actions have Negative Consequences. I want you to know that I have done all I could to tell the world about your Negative Actions. I personally contacted Channel 25 Television about the valedictorian---and the Clifton Record, the Waco Tribune-Herald, the Bosque County News, the Reader's Digest, the Associated Press, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Texas Education Agency--School Governance Department, the Texas State Commissioner of Education, and the Waco Region 12 Central Office. I am also responsible for articles on twowebsites,  "Violated Rights: Only Repository of Rights Violated News", and  "Texas Zero Tolerance". If you Google --with quotation marks around them---"Superintendent Carla Sigler", "Cranfills Gap school", or "Kaitlan Head", you will find a lot of negative publicity. I did not create the negative publicity--YOU did. So, please, don't give the credit or the blame to anyone but me---I worked hard to get it all out there.

I have been coming to Cranfill's Gap for forty years. I used to ride horses for folks over here. I was coming here before Sue Lee even moved here. My mother lived here the last years of her life. She died in a house right down the street. I always loved the Gap--it was such a friendly, neighborly, close-knit town. But somewhere along the way, things changed. So much has happened that cannot be undone. I believe that you, the school board, lost your focus----You became more committed and loyal to Carla Sigler than to the best interests of the school and the town. 

I am still not sure that Cranfill's Gap deserves a school, but why punish the entire town for the actions of a few? Even though she has moved on, the STENCH of Carla Sigler is still here.  Public threats have been made by public officials--and I did speak to the Bosque County District Attorney about that.  Carla Sigler's legacy of Vendettas, Personal Agendas, Retaliation, Pettiness, and Malice are still alive and well. 

You say you want a school and a town--- Without a school, you have no town. Well, what are you willing to do to try to save them? You cannot continue to treat people the way they have been treated. You can change things if you really want to. Out with the Bad and the Negative--and in with the Good and the Positive. Some of you might have to swallow your pride, admit you backed the wrong horse in Carla Sigler, and put out your hand in friendship. I don't know if trust in your neighbor can be restored, but it's the only hope you have, if you want a school and a town. I hope you can do it---otherwise, it will take a Miracle."

Note:   I was actually one of the "milder" speakers! Many others had negative comments, concerns, admonishments, and accusations concerning actions and consequences of the actions of the Cranfill's Gap school board members and Superintendent Carla Sigler.Youcan read the newspaper article about this contentious school board meeting online in the Bosque County News Archives, Front Page, August 29th, 2007, issue,--*which is now posted online.  Go to  bosquecountynews.com, click on Archives, scroll down for the correct issue, click on it, then click on the page you want to look at. 

 Also soon to be added to the Archives in the ***September 12th, 2007, issue, page one***** will be an article about another formal complaint that has been filed against former Cranfill's Gap Superintendent Carla Sigler and school board members Kenny Wiese, Kathie Witte, Jeff Rose, Shelly Stuart, Virgil Tindall, and Jackie Ray Sorrells. It has taken a long time for the truth to get out.  Looks like some folks may finally be held accountable for their actions. Remember, negative actions always have negative consequences. That is just a fact of life. Too bad one cannot obliterate the harm Carla Sigler has done, not only to children, adults, and the school, but to the once-wonderful town of Cranfill's Gap.