The Houston school district is investigating the former Key Middle School principal and several other employees accused of helping students cheat on state exams, misusing funds and abusing federal lunch rules.
HISD Superintendent Terry Grier announced on Thursday that he has asked the Texas Education Agency to conduct its own investigation into possible cheating at Key last school year. He also plans to share evidence with the Harris County District Attorney's Office about the alleged misuse of district money.
Grier said the school district's probe centers on six to eight former and current Key employees and could expand. Mable Caleb, the former principal of Key who now runs Kashmere High School, is one of those under investigation, her attorney, Chris Tritico, confirmed.
Caleb was embroiled in a cheating scandal at Key five years ago and nearly lost her job. In June, she was promoted to Kashmere and given a $15,000 raise.
“We've already been through this once,” Tritico said. “The district knows good and well that Mable has other people that are involved in testing. She delegates that duty. Mable Caleb did not cheat on the TAKS test.”
In 2005, HISD's investigation yielded no proof that Caleb actively participated in cheating on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, but then-Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra determined she should have known about wrongdoing. Several students who had previously struggled on the high-stakes