HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – The Cy-Fair ISD trustee who has been under recent criticism for race-related comments he made regarding Black teachers in the district has been released from the technology company where he worked, his former employer announced.
On Jan. 10, Scott Henry and other trustees were discussing race and equity matters when he discussed the number of Black educators in the district, seemingly connecting it to state averages and drop-out rates. He made the comments at a board meeting, which was published on Youtube.
“Do you know what the statewide average for Black teachers is? Ten percent. I looked it up. Houston ISD, which y’all used as a shining example, you know what their average number of percentages for Black teachers is? Thirty-six percent. I looked that up. You know what their drop-out rate is? Four percent. I don’t want to be four percent. I don’t want to be HISD. I want to be a shining example, I want to be the district standard. I want to be the premium place where people go to be,” Henry said. “And quite frankly, we have a limited budget, with limited resources and we have a great place, and let’s don’t mess it up for everyone else.”
His statements caused outrage among some community and political leaders, with several calling for his resignation.
Leaders from the NAACP Houston and FIEL Houston showed up to another board meeting a few days later, speaking out against Henry’s comments. During that meeting, Henry disputed claims that the remarks he made were racist in nature. He also said his family had been receiving threats.
SEE ALSO: Cy-Fair ISD trustee speaks publicly after facing calls for his resignation
Henry was employed as a sales manager for an IT company, Splunk, according to LinkedIn. As clips of Henry’s statement went viral, some social media users began to tag his employer.
One commenter tagged the company in a video, saying, “this isn’t a good look.”
The company responded, releasing a message on Twitter.
“Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core to Splunk’s values and mission. We are deeply committed to DEI and take these concerns seriously. Due to the privacy of any individuals involved, we do not discuss specific employee matters,” Splunk posted.
They later updated Henry’s employment had ended.
“We viewed the employee’s conduct as inconsistent with who we are as Splunkers and the individual is no longer employed by our company,” the update read.
As of Saturday, Henry remains on the Cy-Fair ISD board.