The Plano ISD Board of Trustees voted unanimously Thursday, Aug. 13, to begin termination proceedings against Brinker Elementary principal Jennifer King, two days after students returned to class Tuesday, Aug. 11, for the new school year.
All seven trustees approved issuing King a notice of proposed termination at a special called meeting at the district's administration building in Plano. The board spent nearly two hours in closed session with legal counsel before returning to open session for the 7-0 vote, according to the Dallas Express.
King, principal at Brinker since 2024, was placed on administrative leave in July after former second-grade teacher Paul Campbell was arrested on a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child. A civil lawsuit filed July 30 in Collin County by the parents of an 8-year-old student accuses King of receiving at least one prior report about inappropriate touching by Campbell and failing to notify law enforcement or increase supervision, CBS News Texas reported. The lawsuit seeks more than $1 million in damages. Those allegations have not been proven in court, and King has not been criminally charged.
The district has not publicly disclosed the specific grounds for the employment action.
Campbell, 64, now faces one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and three counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact after additional students came forward following his July 8 arrest, FOX 4 reported. He remains in Collin County jail on $2.5 million bond. His attorney, Todd Shapiro, has said Campbell denies all allegations.
Zeke Fortenberry, the attorney representing one victim's family, told FOX 4: "As our young client and all the other young girls in Collin County start back school, the last thing they need to worry about is a child molester being out on bond."
What this means for Murphy families
Brinker Elementary is located in Plano, not Murphy. But Plano ISD governs Murphy-area campuses including Boggess Elementary, Hunt Elementary and McMillen High School. Murphy families elect the same seven trustees who cast Thursday's vote: board President Dr. Lauren Tyra, Vice President Nancy Humphrey, Secretary Katherine Goodwin and members Michael Cook, Sam Johnson, Elisa Klein and Tarrah Lantz.
What happens next
Thursday's vote does not finalize King's firing. Under Texas Education Code Chapter 21, a term contract employee who receives a proposed termination notice has 15 days to request a hearing before the Commissioner of Education. That hearing, conducted by an independent examiner under Subchapter F, must occur before any termination takes effect.
A bond hearing for Campbell is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 20, before a different judge than the one who previously declined to lower his bond.
The next regular Plano ISD board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 8. A board work session is set for Tuesday, Aug. 18.
