Wall ISD Pushes Back Against Football Coach Drama

WALL, TX — The Wall ISD Superintendent has spoken and denies any claims about moving the upcoming Wall ISD School Board meeting to obscure discussion about outgoing head football coach Houston Guy and he denied any conspiracy to mislead the Wall community.

We reported yesterday that the Wall ISD Board of Trustees is usually advertised to meet at 6 p.m. And we reported that there were exceptions. The next meeting, however, was scheduled at 7 a.m. on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 14. This raised eyebrows of supporters of Coach Houston Guy who spoke to us, hinting that the school board was attempting to reduce the audience of Guy supporters at the official board meeting. St. Ambrose Catholic Church holds a special mass on Ash Wednesday at 7 a.m. in a predominant Catholic community.

In a phone call, Wall ISD Superintendent Russell Dacy was asked directly about this. Dacy said the meetings are scheduled to accommodate the school board members and to allow 100 percent attendance of all officials. He said one board member is flying out of state that day and other board members have children involved in extracurricular activities like basketball and the stock show later that day.

Dacy complained that we were making assumptions about meeting times and he didn't believe our reporting was helping the Wall community. He said the conflict of Ash Wednesday was considered when scheduling the meeting but board member conflicts with other activities outweighed the holiday and the 7 a.m. time was chosen.

Meanwhile, supporters of Coach Houston Guy want to make a last ditch effort to, in their view, save the coach's legacy. That is where the change.org petitions originated. The agenda was posted Friday afternoon and no specific mention of Guy was on the agenda, but there is a listed item for "Personnel." 

The parties making the case for Houston Guy demand anonymity for now. Some have argued this is cowardly. That is for the reader to decide. But then again, the Federalist Papers were written anonymously. In west Texas, a radical change in a football dynasty is of equal importance for many residents of Wall.

The Wall School Board meeting will take place on February 14, 2024, at 7 a.m. Citizen comments are allowed at the meeting.