(InformingNews.com) – Plenty of controversy surrounds Round Rock Independent School District Superintendent Hafedh Azaiez. The situation reads like a soap opera with accusations from a pregnant mistress and a coverup by the school board president. Many are left wondering, should more have been done?
The Accusations
An unnamed former mistress of Azaiez, who says she was in a relationship with him from September 2018 to December 2020, accused him of domestic violence in a request for a protective order. She stated after she told him she was pregnant, he tried to force her to get an abortion, and the situation escalated from there.
After her refusal, she claims he began harassing her in phone calls and text messages. The pregnancy happened around the time he was signing his contract with the school, and he feared the reveal of an affair would harm his professional and personal life. He wanted the situation resolved.
The mistress claims Azaiez attacked her physically, leaving her bruised and battered. Her doctor said she was at risk of a miscarriage due to the abuse.
Azaiez then began accusing her of defaming him, and he said school board president Amy Weir would protect him. He claimed Weir had already guaranteed he would not lose his job. The mistress said Weir added to the stress, and she felt intimidated by the school board president, who told people the accusations and abuse claims were lies.
The unnamed female also pointed to Azaiez as the culprit for a break-in at her home in summer 2021. She claimed it was part of the ongoing abusive situation.
Despite reports of abuse to authorities, there have been no charges against Azaiez. Also, the school board is allegedly defending him and covering up the mess.
The School Board Cover Up
After a father brought up Azaiez’s legal issues in a school board meeting, members had officers arrest him for causing a disturbance. The father claims Weir went out of her way to silence anyone speaking out about Azaiez and took steps to keep the public out of meetings by restricting capacity.
Another father who spoke out about the intimidation tactics and called for the resignations of Azaiez and Weir also ended up in jail after officers removed him from a meeting.
Eventually, the district did suspend Azaiez due to a Texas Education Agency recommendation because of all the accusations. However, he has not lost his job and remains on administrative leave.
Defense Claims
Azaiez’s attorney, Mary Nix, says protective order applications contain unproven allegations, not facts. She claims to have evidence the assault never happened and said her client and the mistress reached a private settlement, which included a civil restraining order.
Weir gave a statement to Fox News, saying the claims and accusations against her are not true.
Other Concerns
Community and school board members now say they have concerns that the board rushed Azaiez’s hiring process. They say there was not a proper investigation into his past, including allegations from a former job.
When working for the Donna Independent School District, Azaiez allegedly used the school board police force, which is under superintendent control and separate from other law enforcement in the community, to silence a grandmother speaking out about corruption. Despite this accusation, all but two Round Rock Independent School District members decided to forego an investigation and voted to hire him.
Should the school board have done a full investigation before hiring Azaiez? Should he still be on the payroll now, after everything that has come to light? Did the school board drop the ball here and allow someone accused of corruption and abuse to influence students’ lives?
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