Second Kingsville ISD Teacher Arrested
39-year-old Joseph Perez
KINGSVILLE, TEXAS - In less than a month, Kingsville Independent School District (KISD) has another teacher that has been arrested – this time for Driving while Intoxicated (DWI).
39-year-old Joseph Perez the Assistant Football (Offensive Line)/ Assistant Baseball coach for H.M. King Early High School was arrested by Kenedy County Sheriff's Office and booked into Kleberg County Detention Center on Friday, October 11, 2024.
Perez has been with the district for a little over a year.
On September 26, 2024, Cory Scarborough voluntarily surrendered himself to Kingsville Police Department (KPD) after an investigation by detectives was brought forward by a local resident who reported finding a suspicious device on their vehicle.
Detectives charge Scarborough with Unlawful Installation of a Tracking Device, a Class A misdemeanor under the Texas Penal Code.
Cory Scarborough
Kyra Nix, who has children in the district said, “It’s sad and disheartening that this has happened. I don’t want to pass judgement, that is not my place.”
Kingsville ISD teacher Cory Scarborough Arrested for Tracking Device - South Texas Community News
Since 2020, Kingsville ISD has been plagued with numerous internal problems. Starting with the filing of a lawsuit against Texas Education Agency (TEA), teachers being arrested, and students threatening school violence, the districts multiple issues are starting to be a concern to the community.
The Texan Tribune reported in September 2024 that a coalition of more than 70 Texas school districts, including KISD, “sent a letter to the TEA agency’s commissioner, Mike Morath, on Sept. 13 after dozens of them began sharing their concerns with one another about the transition to the new system used to collect student, staff, and financial data. Before the upgrade, school districts would submit data directly to the state. Under the new arrangement, the software vendors are now responsible for transmitting the data to the state, a change that school officials say leaves them without a chance to fact-check the information before it goes out.”
KISD along with 6 other school districts filed a joint lawsuit in August 2023 against TEA. The lawsuit asked to stop the release of the 2022-23 ratings which the districts claim, “are based on measures, methods and procedures that were not provided to school districts at the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year.”
2017-2018, Kingsville ISD received an F rating with a score of 57. In 2019, they did not receive a rating due to irregularities and they never received a score in 2020 due to the COVID-19 lockdown. For the 2021-22 school year, the district received an accountability rating of C with a score of 78.
Kingsville ISD Joins in Lawsuit Against TEA – South Texas Community News
In July 2022, KIII-TV and KRIS TV reported on an incident that took place at Gillett Middle School, a Kingsville ISD school, when a student was allegedly put in a headlock by former head football coach James Jefferson.
Parents call for removal of Kingsville ISD employee | kiiitv.com
Andres and Tessa De La Rosa parents of the student involved in the incident, asked the school board for Jefferson’s termination and for compensation of their child’s emergency room visit after the incident.
The school board denied the request but approved having Superintendent Dr. Reynolds-Perez report the incident to the Texas Education Agency.
Kingsville ISD will host “Coffee & Taquito with the KISD Superintendent”, Dr. Cissy Reynolds-Perez, on Friday, November 1, 2024, from 7:30-9:30 am at El Dorado Restaurant at 704 North 14 Street, Kingsville.
For more information, call 361-592-3387 ext. 8113 or email sperez3@kingsvilleisd.com.