Lovejoy ISD Superintendent Resigns, School Board Cites ‘Adult Victims'

Lovejoy ISD named named an interim superintendent Wednesday after longtime district leader Ted Moore abruptly resigned. The board of trustees confirmed the resignation, saying they were unable to comment further to protect the confidentiality of "adult victims."

In a letter sent to families in the Collin County district, Lovejoy ISD Board of Trustee President Chad Collins wrote, "Tonight was a very difficult evening for the Lovejoy Independent School District. According to Ted Moore's contract, the district must accept his resignation submitted today effective 5 p.m."

The letter went on to say, "In order to protect the confidentiality of adult victims we cannot, and will not, share the reasons we find ourselves in this position today."

There was no additional information provided about any allegations against Moore. The district shared a letter Moore sent to district staff, but would not comment further. In his note, Moore said he'd been with the district for 14 years and only cited health issues as his reason for retiring.

"What I would like to know is what steps they are taking to move forward because you can not control an individual’s choice," said Lovejoy ISD Parent Cristi Shull.

Shull and another parent, Stephanie McCaffity, told NBC 5 they approved of the school board's handling of Moore's resignation.

"I want to see the community come together to move forward," said McCaffity. "I don’t think it’s helpful for any of us to speculate or for things to spread like wildfire that may or may not be true."

But Dianne Redman, who lives in the district, says she has questions about the school board's actions this week.

"If there is really some serious misconduct, why was he allowed to resign versus fired being for cause?" asked Redman.

Brenda Rizos, who writes a watchdog blog about Lovejoy ISD, said she believes the school board should launch an investigation.

"They need to get an attorney that is looking out for the kids' interests and the taypayers' interest instead of Ted Moore’s interests," said Rizos. "I don’t think they’ve had that in the past."

Moore did not return a call seeking comment on Thursday morning. 

Collins also did not return a request for comment on Thursday. It's unclear if there is was an internal investigation or if one is being conducted.

NBC 5 found no evidence of a criminal complaint involving Moore after checking with law enforcement in Allen, Fairview and Collin County.

According to the district's website, Dr. Dennis Womack, assistant superintendent for operations, has been named interim superintendent.

Moore, according to his biography posted on the district's website, received his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas and his Master's in Education from Texas A&M University. He spent more than 40 years in public education working as a teacher, counselor, director, assistant principal, deputy superintendent and superintendent. While superintendent, Lovejoy ISD has been ranked by US News and World Report in the top 1 percent of U.S. high schools since 2011 and is one of only four districts in the state to receive both the "A" rating and the highest percentage scoring of 97 percent in STAAR testing.

Read the full letter from Trustee Collins below.

Dear Lovejoy Community:

Tonight was a very difficult evening for the Lovejoy Independent School District. According to Ted Moore’s contract, the district must accept his resignation submitted today effective 5:00 PM. In order to protect the confidentiality of adult victims we cannot, and will not, share the reasons we find ourselves in this position today. We are confident that our administration, campus leadership, and this Board will maintain our exemplary education, culture and values in Lovejoy in spite of the inappropriate conduct by our former superintendent.

Tonight, the Board of Trustees accepted the resignation of Ted Moore.

Additionally, our Board of Trustees took action to appoint Dr. Dennis Womack as the Interim Superintendent of Lovejoy ISD, effective immediately. Dr. Womack is in his 14th year with Lovejoy ISD and currently serves as Assistant Superintendent of Operations for the district. Our Board is confident Dr. Womack will successfully lead Lovejoy through this transition, and we all look forward to supporting him.

Your school board will continue to make decisions in the best interest of every child, family, and employee in the Lovejoy School District. We will keep you updated on this transition and look forward to sharing our progress.

Chad Collins
President
Lovejoy ISD Board of Trustees

Ted Moore's Resignation Letter

NBC 5's Frank Heinz contributed to this report.