City View ISD authorized to keep texts related to sexual abuse allegations secret

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City View basketball head coach Bobby Morris during the game against Bowie on Friday, January 17, 2020 at Bowie.

Editor’s Note: If you know or suspect that someone under the age of 18 is being sexually or physically abused, call the Texas Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-252- 5400. To learn more about how to identify signs of child abuse or neglect, click here.

A decision by the Texas Attorney General’s office allows City View ISD to keep certain texts related to allegations of sexual abuse against coach Bobby Morris secret.

In February, the Times Record News requested copies of group text messages exchanged from June 23, 2022 to July 2, 2022 among school officials regarding allegations of sexual misconduct against Morris, an alleged cover-up of them in the district and the decision to put him on leave.

Allegations of sexual misconduct against Morris and a district cover-up emerged on social media last summer. Morris died by suicide on June 27, 2022, the day the district placed him on paid administrative leave.

The AG’s decision, issued in a May 4 letter to City View’s attorney, is that the district may withhold portions of the scripts from public viewing because they are subject to solicitor-client privilege and may remain confidential.

Since a client can waive attorney-client privilege at any time, a government agency must explain that confidentiality of communications has been maintained, according to the letter.

Either way, City View should release copies of the rest of the messages, according to the May 4 letter that the AG’s office also provided to TRN.

Bushong

After receiving the newspaper’s Feb. 9 open records request for the texts, City View’s attorney asked the state to allow the district to withhold part of it.

Crow said in a Feb. 24 letter to the GA that ex-superintendent Tony Bushong quoted his legal advice and that school board members discussed it in portions of the group’s texts.

City View officials have sought legal advice to respond to “community discussions on Facebook and actual allegations made against a district employee,” Crow said in his letter to the AG.

The story continues

“Parts of the information that are not considered confidential will be provided to the requester as quickly as possible,” she said in her letter.

Seven current and former CVISD administrators are charged with failing to report child abuse in an alleged covered-up case dating back several years involving two former superintendents, Bushong and former superintendent Steve Harris.

The Class A misdemeanor is punishable by one year in prison and a fine of up to $4,000. Anyone accused of a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

Bushong and Harris placed Morris on leave during their administrations due to allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

Carrie Allen

City View officials also face a challenge in federal civil court. In a lawsuit, a former student alleges a “conspiracy of silence” in the district that allowed Morris to continue to have access to potential victims.

The lawsuit was filed April 4 against CVISD, Bushong, former high school principal Daryl Frazier, former coach and athletic director Rudy Hawkins and Morris’ estate.

Those charged with failing to report include Bushong, Frazier, Hawkins, Councilman Cindy Leaverton and Deputy Superintendent Carrie Allen. The school board appointed Allen to act as acting superintendent while searching for a new superintendent.

Trish Choate, business watch reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news and more. Contact Trish with topical advice at [email protected]. Read his recent work here. Her Twitter account is @Trishapedia.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Ruling allows City View to keep texts related to Coach Morris secret

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