CARLA CRUELLA

I had never seen former  Cranfills Gap School Superintendent Carla Sigler until June 26th, 2007, when I attended the Cranfills Gap High School graduation ceremony. My sister, Sue Lee, and I went to the graduation even though our niece, Kaitlan Head, the Cranfills Gap 2007 Valedictorian, would not be able to participate or even watch the ceremony. 

The decision by Superintendent Sigler to ban Kaitlan from campus since May 10th, 2007, and to not allow her to participate in her graduation ceremony on May 26th, 2007,  had been upheld  (illegally)  by the school board in a meeting the night before graduation. Kaitlan's father spent over $4000 for an attorney to force the board to meet before June 1st--the date set by Sigler to hear Kaitlan's appeal---only problem with the June 1st date was that it was SIX DAYS AFTER GRADUATION! 

 The last day of school was May 25th. Sigler planned to run the clock out and when Kaitlan did not get her diploma and graduate, she could say, well, we could not hear your appeal until June 1st, as that is the next scheduled board meeting. Sigler did not care that, by law, you cannot extend DAEP past the last day of school (May 25th) but had set DAEP for Kaitlan through June 1st---which was illegal!!  But Sigler did not care what the law was------she was bound and determined that Kaitlan would not graduate, even when her PERFECT ATTENDANCE canceled out DAEP. (It's a little complicated to keep it all straight--that's why you need to know the law!) 

And if you are really going to do what is in the best interests of the student, wouldn't you at least give them a chance to appeal your decision?  Have a little discussion about it, especially in unusual circumstances like it being the very end of the school year, and time was running out? But no, not Sigler. She was adamant that she could not hear Kaitlan's appeal until June 1st----too late for Kaitlan to get her diploma,scholarships, and even graduate, much less participate in the graduation ceremony. But only a few folks knew that Sigler had set it up this way, intentionally and with malice aforethought, so Kaitlan would not be able to graduate and get her diploma and her valedictorian scholarships.  

The attorney involvement allowed  Kaitlan to force the board and Sigler to hold a special meeting and give Kaitlan her diploma, her valedictorian scholarships, and be allowed to graduate. Most folks were not aware---and would not have believed it if you had told them,  it was such a malicious thing to do, especially to a child----- that Sigler had purposely fixed it to where Kaitlan would not graduate at all....though that is not what Sigler and some of the board members told her concerned classmates and friends--they were told=========   Why sure, Kaitlan is going to graduate! Don't you be concerned about your friend and classmate! ===========All the while knowing this was not true.

 And, do you know, some folks are still saying this today! They are still spreading this lie! ======Oh, yes, Kaitlan would have graduated without involving an attorney! She just was not allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony!===== Well, that is a lie, and they know it is a lie. Thank God for the attorney, John Cullar,  and that Kaitlan's father, Charles Head, had and was willing to spend the money to try to stop this injustice being done to his daughter. 

The afternoon of the Gap graduation ceremony, Sue and I had attended, with family and friends, a very nice-- though surreal-- graduation ceremony for Kaitlan at her church in Meridian.  It was still hard to believe that Kaitlan, though valedictorian and honor student, would not be allowed to participate in her own graduation as a result of a vindictive retaliation by Sigler and the school board members against Kaitlan's aunt, Sue Lee.

 (Note to reader:           I have previously blogged many entries detailing the shameful, malicious, and sometimes quite illegal actions of Superintendent Carla Sigler and Cranfills Gap school board members Kenny Wiese, Jeff Rose, Kathie Witte, Shelly Stuart, Virgil Tindall, and Jackie Ray Sorrels against many people and not just my niece, Kaitlan. You can find more detail in the Archives of this blog, beginning in May or June 2007. Many articles written by others appeared in the newspaper, The Bosque County News, found online at bosquecountynews.com, Archives beginning in February 2007, on the front page of the paper, PageOne.  

  The Bosque County District Attorney had been investigating whether the Cranfills Gap school board and Superintendent Carla Sigler violated the Texas Open Meetings Act at Kaitlan's May 2007 board meeting. Just recently, the District Attorney turned the case over to the Attorney General's Office in Austin for, as I understand it, further investigation and possible prosecution of Sigler and the Cranfills Gap school board members.  I cannot help but wonder why the District Attorney would turn the case over to the Attorney General's Office if no laws were broken as some folks in Cranfills Gap contend.)    

 Back to the Gap graduation: 

  Sue wanted to attend because she had not missed a Cranfills Gap high school graduation ceremony in many, many years--- she knew all of the 2007 graduates and had seen most of them grow up---and she was a member of the school board. Sue has lived in Cranfills Gap over thirty years now, and has lived right down the street from the school for most of those years.  

Sue had been an employee of Cranfills Gap ISD--- working as a custodian and in the cafeteria as well as driving a school bus--- for over fourteen years and had been on the Cranfills Gap school board for the last ELEVEN years. Both of Sue's children had graduated from Cranfills Gap, and until recently, all three of her grandchildren had attended the Gap school.

Sue had always been a big supporter of the school,  attending all home games ---both basketball and football. Sue had  supported every school fundraiser and  been present at all school events. Like many others, Sue also supported the town of Cranfills Gap.

Several years ago, Sue Lee and her late husband, Wade Lee, donated two acres of prime downtown land to the City of Cranfills Gap so the Sewer System and the Community Park could be placed there. So when you Gap residents flush your commode or you see kids playing in the park, remember Sue and Wade's generosity to the Gap.

Kaitlan had wanted me to get some of the graduation programs for her, as all of her classmates were listed and it showed that she was the valedictorian, even though she had (illegally) not been allowed to participate in the ceremony. There had been a fight between the valedictorian, Kaitlan Head, and the salutatorian, Sarah Sellers, on May 9th, 2007. As the boy who broke it up said, it was just a fight.

 Superintendent Carla Sigler had suspended Kaitlan for one day, but allowed her to come back to school the next day to take a test. Sarah, the salutatorian, also involved in the fight and who actually struck the first blow, was not punished at all--not even sent to the office.

 Kaitlan and Sarah apologized to each other on May 10th, 2007, the day after the fight, and both sat in the same small classroom for several hours taking the test, so obviously Sigler did not think either girl was a threat to themselves or others. 

 Later though, after Sigler realized Kaitlan was the neice of her perceived  foe, Sue Lee,  Kaitlan's punishment escalated to DAEP (a last resort for repeat offenders with a violent history, which was an incorrect, inappropriate, and illegal punishment for Kaitlan, and besides, Kaitlan had had PERFECT ATTENDANCE for the last several years and that cancelled out DAEP.) 

Sigler had told Kaitlan that she would have Kaitlan arrested if she came to school for any reason whatsoever.  Kaitlan has set foot on school property since May 10th, 2007, only once---and that was on May 16th, 2007, for a disciplinary hearing---- and to my knowledge, has never returned to the town of Cranfills Gap. Kaitlan had attended the Gap school and lived in the Gap most of her life--She was a GAP GIRL--- but had lived with her family at Meridian for the last few years. 

 Kaitlan showed great responsibility and maturity to get herself up every morning and drive the fifteen miles from Merdian to attend school in Cranfills Gap, while working a full time job in Clifton as well----she had her own vehicle now, and she needed gas money, like the typical teenager about to graduate and go on to college. Though the typical teenager does not have perfect attendance like Kaitlan had---never missing a day of school for many years, not just her senior year, as well as always having the highest grades in her class.   And Kaitlan was pretty much the typical teenager until she and Sarah got into that fight presenting the opportunity for Carla Sigler to retaliate against her perceived foe, my sister and Kaitlan's aunt, Sue Lee, by excessively and illegally punishing Sue's niece, Kaitlan. 

 

However,  the reason I wanted to attend the high school graduation was plain and simple---I wanted to lay eyes on this woman so many people had described with adjectives such as "evil, malicious, vindictive, inhuman" and on and on. Through the years, I had met only two people, both men, who seemed to compare with Carla Sigler------- one is in prison for life without parole and the other one was murdered. Yep, I wanted to see Carla Sigler "live and in the flesh."

While waiting for the ceremony to begin, Sue pointed out Carla Sigler to me.  I immediately exclaimed to Sue and the students and adults standing talking with us, "Oh, my God! She looks just like CRUELLA!  CARLA  CRUELLA!!!"   The students all understood immediately what I meant, as well as a few of the parents, but I had to explain to most of the adults just exactly who Cruella was.

For you who don't know, I will tell you.  Cruella is the evil woman in the children's movie, "101 Dalmations." She is the villainess who  does such horrid and cruel things in the movie.    Get it?           "C-R-U-E-L - La".   

 Everyone turned and looked at Sigler. She had long dark hair, lots of very dark eye make-up, and was wearing a dark brown, flowing robe all the way to the floor...She also looked a little bit like Merlin the Sorcerer in the Disney books--minus the Dunce cap--- but she really and truly looked exactly like the evil CRUELLA!!! 

 We all exploded in laughter, and the students continued to call her Carla Cruella all night long. And what an ironic and fitting name for someone who has done such despicable things!  So it turned out there were a few light moments at the graduation, after all.