UPDATE: Friday 1 p.m. - According to a statement from Mathis ISD, school trustees have taken action to terminate Mathis ISD Athletic Director Roger Masters.
According to the Board of Trustees, they had been provided documents from the Superintendent on April 16 that improper electronic communication had taken place between Coach Masters and a former student.
The communications did not take place during the current school year, and the Superintendent had never shared any of the electronic communications between Masters and the former student with the school board.
A board meeting was held four business days after April 16, on April 22, to place Masters and Superintendent Tim Norman on paid administrative leave. The reason for the delay was that the Texas Open Meetings Act requires 3 days' notice to hold a public board meeting.
Masters had submitted a letter of resignation that would have gone into effect at the end of this school year, but the board voted unanimously to terminate him instead.
April 26 was the first day for the Mathis ISD Board to take action to terminate Masters' employment based on the Texas Open Meetings Act's legally required 3 days notice.
As for Superintendent Tim Norman, no action was taken against him. He will remain on administrative leave with pay as an investigation in this matter continues.
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ORIGINAL STORY:
The Mathis school board met Monday night to discuss the employment of its superintendent and athletic director.
In a unanimous decision, the school board announced superintendent Tim Norman and athletic director Roger Masters will be on administrative leave with pay.
The news caused confusion and upset among the community.
“All I heard was that they’ll be suspended with pay, and that was it. They didn’t say anything,” Mathis resident Rosa Galyas said. “Not what the cause was or what the case was. Nothing.”
Here's what we do know. Tim Norman became Mathis ISD's superintendent in February of 2022. He came from Hubbard ISD and had been an educator for over 20 years.
Masters worked at that same school district as a head football coach and athletic director in 2020 and 2021.
After that, he became the defensive coordinator with Mathis ISD and was named head coach in 2023.
Several community members had shown up to the meeting showing support for Masters.
“He bends over backward for these kids. Anything we need, he’s there,” Mathis resident Frank Holdeness said.
Right now, the school district is looking to hire an outside firm to investigate both men.
Due to the confidential nature of the investigation, the school district said it cannot provide additional details or comments on the matter.
Mathis ISD has called a special board meeting scheduled for Friday, where they will discuss the possible termination of employment for Roger Masters for the 2023-2024 school year.
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