ODESSA, Texas — ECISD school board member for Position 4, Doyle Woodall, has announced his resignation.
A racially insensitive Facebook post that Woodall made on his page landed him in hot water with ECISD Board President Donna Smith, who called him on Monday asking for him to consider resignation.
“I really, really wish, as much as I like Doyle, I wish he would go ahead and fix this by resigning," Smith said.
The post, among several others on his page which many deemed insensitive, has since been deleted. It depicted a noose with the caption "If we want to make America great again we will have to make evil people fear punishment again."
The Texas State Teachers Association also released a statement stating "We demand that Doyle Woodall resign from his position of trustee on the school board and urge Ector County ISD families to join us in signing the petition."
A Change.org petition was also started to get Woodall to resign.
Speaking to NewsWest 9 on Monday, Woodall stated that he had no intention of resigning.
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His statement can be found below in full:
"I was first elected to the school board in May. of 04. In 05 we created the SHAC Committee. With their help we brought in the Life Center to help with our sex education program. Since then teen pregnancies have gone down 28 percent. In 06 Collin Sewell and the Education Foundation presented the AVID program to the board for our consideration. I jumped in with both feet and the board was able to implement AVID on all campuses. OHS is one of the very few 4000+ campuses in the world to become a national demonstration school. The IB program was in existence at OHS before I was elected to the board and with my help it continues to grow. Many have come against it because of the cost but I have fought hard to keep it. Both programs are designed to help minorities prepare and succeed at the university level.
While on the board I have served as secretary 3 times, Vice President twice and president during the 2018-2019 school year. During that year we brought in Jim Nelson to be our interim superintendent and passed a TRE. My proudest moment was when we named Scott Muri to be our new superintendent. That was no small feat. Some board members were pushing to hire in house and did not want to go to the expense and effort to do an exhaustive search. Because I stood my ground ECISD now has arguably the best superintendent in the nation.
My wife usually proof reads my letters before I send them in but not this time. She will get this one when everyone else does. This one needs to be 100 percent me. I hope she survives it.
It is with no regret that I, at this time, tender my resignation, effectively immediately but not for the reasons you may think. My 88 year old mother is ill and it takes a lot of time to help her but that is not the main reason. I was blindsided by a life altering family issue Tuesday evening. My family has always came first. I don’t know if it will take weeks, months, or years to resolve these issues but I know I can’t give all children and teachers the time it takes to do this job. They deserve so much more than I can give them at this time. After these issues are resolved, I may run again in 2021, if my situation allows.
To the tens of thousands of people who have supported me, thank you. Please continue to support our schools. We have an amazing superintendent and staff. ECISD has wonderful teachers that truly love and encourage all of your children. The board is one of the best in Texas.
To the few thousand that have protested against me, to the cowards that who have called on restricted numbers with their death threats, and to the many small minded people that believe a person is a racist if you disagree with them; it’s been fun.
It is with no regrets that I send this letter. If all of this hadn’t happened, I still would have resigned on this date."