Update:
Bryan school board president Trey Moore issued a statement that more records could be released related to last September’s departure of former superintendent Tommy Wallis.
Here is Moore’s statement, released by Bryan ISD:
“The Attorney General’s opinion allowing the release of some information pertaining to the separation of Dr. Tommy Wallis from Bryan ISD is encouraging. The public has a strong desire and a right to know how their district is governed and their funds are spent. In the fullness of time, the Attorney General may allow additional information to be disclosed that would present a much more complete picture as to the causes for that separation beyond the very limited scope of what has been released today.”
Original story:
The departure of former Bryan school superintendent Tommy Wallis started with a private meeting involving the school board president and the district’s number two administrator.
That meeting, which was recorded, along with e-mails following the meeting, were provided by the district through an open records request by WTAW News.
On September 19th, Wallis was presented paperwork that his lawyers later stated evaluated his performance by four other central office administrators.
During the same meeting, Wallis was told he had applied for 17 other positions while in Bryan.
Board member Doug Wunneburger, who was president at the time, told Wallis what upset him the most was “the betrayal of trust”.
Offering Wallis full pay through June 30th 2016 if he resigned, Wunneburger said “I’m pretty certain that the board will support me on this. And if you don’t accept these terms, I can’t guarantee what they (the board) will do.”
Wunneburger also called on Wallis to leave the building and surrender his work computers, his district ID, his district keycard, and his district credit card.
Wallis was told he could return later to collect his personal belongings, and he was instructed not to contact Bryan ISD staff.
Deputy superintendent Tim Rocka suggested to Wallis what would happen if he did not take the buyout, telling Wallis “You have broken your contract. No one wants to ruin your life or your reputation. And no one wants to go out and have a public vote to do anything like that.”
According to e-mails released by Bryan ISD, Wallis initially wanted the equivalent of one year’s salary and benefits…about $278,000 dollars. The final settlement was about $83,000 dollars.
Wallis is currently an interim high school principal in Missouri City, working for the Fort Bend ISD at Hightower High School.
WTAW News has sent a text to Wallis and an e-mail to his lawyers asking for a response.
Click below to hear the September 19, 2016 conversation involving Doug Wunneburger, Tommy Wallis, and Tim Rocka.
The recording was provided by Bryan ISD through an open records request by WTAW News.
The conversation took place in the superintendent’s office. At the end of the recording, there is the sound of closing doors after Dr. Rocka left the office.
Below is a screen shot of an e-mail provided by Bryan ISD as part of an open records request by WTAW News. This email was sent September 22, 2016 by Tommy Wallis’s lawyer to lawyers representing Bryan ISD.
