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Valedictorian shakeup frustrates parents of PBTISD students

The interim superintendent issued an apology to parents and students and said the district would work to regain their trust.

PECOS, Texas — Pecos Barstow Toyah ISD recently had a major shakeup in the class rankings that seems to have left many students and parents upset.

According to the district's Facebook page, Blanca Gallego was originally awarded Valedictorian and Zachariah Hung was Salutatorian, but the district later switched the two teens.

Now, Gallego's parents have taken the decision to court. The case is currently under review by a judge.

The reason behind the reversal appeared to be a miscalculation of GPA according to PBTISD officials.

The school board voted to amend the handbook and change the weight of dual credit classes from 4.0 to 5.0 on May 12.

A third party company did an audit that reportedly fixed inaccuracies in GPA weights, leading to the switch of positions.

Several commenters shared their displeasure with the incident, calling for transparency behind the recalculation and asking whether this would impact future graduating classes.

Kathleen Herrera BSN RN, currently practicing in Austin Tx Pecos Hi... gh School Class of 2014 Thank you for all that you do! Know a Pecos High School alum serving as a first responder, emergency or medical worker during the pandemic? We'd love to recognize them!

Others seemed worried about how the changes would impact students in the future.

“To the PBTISD community as a whole, I would like to assure you that the proper procedures and practices are being implemented to ensure that this situation will not occur again in the future," said Jarrett in an apology letter issued to the district.

Jarrett admitted the controversy should have been prevented and that he would work with the employees of PBTISD to regain the trust of students and parents.

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