An independent investigation into the grading scandal at Krum Independent School District found no evidence of wrongdoing, according to a law firm hired by the district to investigate concerns of grade tampering or unfair grading.
“A lot of people in the community appear to have demanded that those accused prove their innocence," said Dallas attorney Aric Stock. "I strongly caution the district this is a dangerous precedent.”
One of the rumors was that teachers were ordered to change the grades of the high school principal's daughter.
Stock also said that allegation was unfounded.
After Wednesday night's meeting, the board issued a statement.
“There’s no credible evidence of wrongdoing and pitting neighbor against neighbor is not the Krum ISD way nor in the best interest of our children," said board President Eric Borchardt.
Krum Mayor Ron Harris said many parents believe the scope of the investigation was too narrow and a more complete forensic report is needed.
Some parents argue students related to administrators and board members had their rankings boosted as a result of changes to the way class ranks are determined.
There are also concerns that a Krum High School assistant principal was told to resign or be fired after he brought students' concerns to the district.
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The meeting Wednesday night came about a month after findings of an audit by the Texas System of Education Service Centers. They released the conclusion from the investigation, which dated from the 2016 graduating class to present.
The center said, aside from some wording inconsistencies in different print publications for the school, the only mathematical issue they found was with the 2016 graduating class.
The center said the grade point averages for that class were calculated incorrectly. At some point, the error was noticed and the GPAs were calculated correctly, but someone manually entered those corrected numbers in the wrong column in a grading spreadsheet.
The center said even though that mistake was made, it did not change the outcome of the valedictorian or salutatorian for that year. Furthermore, the investigation found the only people this issue affected were students ranked ninth and 10th in the Class of 2016. Their positions should have been flipped.
The center made it clear that the investigation had nothing to do with former Krum High School Assistant Principal Bernard Lightfoot. Lightfoot and the board mutually agreed on a separation in mid-October after he raised concerns about improper GPA changes brought to him by students. At that time, students claimed that recent grade weight changes dropped some students' class rankings, while raising others.
