HOUSTON – A long-time Houston Independent School District principal has been removed from campus, and the district isn't saying much about the reason why.
Dr. Bertie Simmons has been at Furr High School in east Houston for the past 17 years and is credited with making major improvements.
Simmons' lawyer said the principal was removed because HISD said she "failed to adhere to the district's decision to relax student dress code for the first semester and ... verbally threatened students with a baseball bat."
Her lawyer called the allegations false.
Parents and teachers want to know what happened.
The district said it's working closely with the school to make sure there's not a disruption in student learning, but many are confused as to why Simmons was told to leave.
Last year, Simmons spoke with KPRC's Khambrel Marshall on Houston Newsmakers.
"I dearly love the kids; they're amazing," Simmons said on the show.
Simmons came out of retirement in 2000 to help turn Furr High School around and solve the school's gang and academic problems.
Since then, the school has seen a 180-degree change. Simmons, 83, was also instrumental in helping obtain a $10 million grant for the school last year.
The news of her sudden departure comes as a surprise.
"She is the sweetheart of this community. Everybody knows that, and like I said, everyone is extremely upset that she is not here," Corina Ortiz said.
Ortiz is with the Houston Federation of Teachers and doesn't know why HISD told Simmons to leave last week.
"We've inquired. They have not given us any particulars as to why it happened, or how long she's going to be out or any of the details surrounding it," Ortiz said.
HISD wouldn't give specifics, but said in a statement:
"The Principal at Furr High School in the Houston Independent School District has been temporarily relieved of duties due to a personnel matter. We cannot provide specific details out of respect for the privacy of the individuals involved. Administrators from Central Office are working closely with the school community and the campus leadership team to ensure there is no disruption to student learning."
We don't know what that personal matter is, but we do know Simmons didn't have plans to leave her job when she spoke to KPRC in 2016.
"As long as I can make a difference in the lives of these students, I'm going to keep going," she said at the time.
