Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Hal Harrell announced his retirement Monday following backlash over the police response to the Robb Elementary School shooting that killed 21 people.
Harrell’s wife, Donna Goates Harrell, announced his retirement in a Facebook post that included a statement from him calling the decision “difficult,” according to CNN. The school district held an open forum school board meeting Monday and voted unanimously to search for a new superintendent.
“I am truly grateful for your support and well wishes. My decision to retire has not been made lightly and was made after much prayer and discernment,” the post read, according to CNN. “My wife and I love you all and this community that we both grew up in, and therefore the decision was a difficult one for us.”
The meeting and announcement came in response to backlash in connection to the May 24 shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School. Harrell will remain the superintendent until a successor is hired, CNN reported.
#Uvalde CISD superintendent Dr. Hal Harrell, who announced his retirement, received an ovation right before he walked into tonight’s school board meeting. pic.twitter.com/UUNp1fVH5H
— Jose Arredondo (@sportsguyjose) October 10, 2022
A crowd attending the meeting was divided in support for Harrell, with some cheering him on and others pleading for accountability, CNN reported. Several attendees at the meeting, some of them parents of the victims, were disheartened by the amount of support Harrell received. (RELATED: Entire School Police Force Suspended In Uvalde)
“I will say this, if it had been 17 white kids, all of those people out there would have been in here. All of our kids matter,” Brett Cross, guardian of victim Uziyah Garcia, told CNN.
“Nineteen children, two teachers, someone has to take responsibility for those deaths. We can’t just all sit back and wait for an investigation to be completed. We’re not asking for criminal charges. We’re asking for accountability,” another Uvalde resident said, according to the outlet. “You appointed Dr. Harrell, accept his retirement and let’s move on and do what we need to do as a community.”
The sister of the late Irma Garcia, a teacher whose husband also tragically died days after the shooting, said she wants all of the school board members, plus the principal and vice principal, to step down, according to the outlet.
Parents of Uvalde school district students have called for the removal of Harrell for several months. In August, a parent of a surviving student and four other parents filed complaints with the school district requesting the superintendent’s removal, CNN previously reported.
The school board held meetings in the past several months about the employment of Harrell and former school district police chief Pete Arredondo, the outlet reported. Harrell placed Arredondo on administrative leave and recommended that he be fired over the response to the shooting.