New emails show how Lago Vista ISD failed to background 'private coach'

Two days before the Lago Vista School Board meeting on Feb. 26, 2024, trustees discussed what they would say to frustrated parents about a “private coach” who had been allowed to interact with high school runners without being properly vetted by the school district.

Editor's note: The above video shows KXAN News' top morning headlines from Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

LAGO VISTA, Texas (KXAN) — Two days before the Lago Vista School Board meeting on Feb. 26, 2024, trustees discussed what they would say to frustrated parents about a “private coach” who had been allowed to interact with high school runners without being properly vetted by the school district.

KXAN investigators obtained these emails through an open records request to the district.

"At the end of the day, they will blame the board for not having proper communication or control over this situation. I’m fine with falling on a sword but want to be as transparent as the law allows,” School Board President Laura Vincent said in an email chain with Superintendent Darren Webb and other school board trustees. 

District officials told school board trustees they found the district’s coaches did not report or inquire about whether the private coach was qualified to interact with students, according to district records reviewed by KXAN. The document said, “... each assumed that he had been properly vetted.”

The emails and records were released less than a week after the district voted to hire a third-party investigator to investigate why the district’s protocols were not followed. The records redacted the name of the “private coach,” and the district will not release the person's name. School officials and board members declined to comment further on the records. 

Deputy Superintendent Dr. Suzy Lofton-Bullis said in a statement to KXAN, “The District will not comment or provide additional clarification until the investigation has concluded.” 

KXAN is not publishing the individual's name because the person has not been charged with a crime tied to the situation.

A record obtained by KXAN, titled “Responses for Board Trustees,” stated that the “private coach” in question met some Lago Vista ISD high school runners in June and July 2023 before the start of official school workouts. 

However, according to the document, the individual also attended school practices in August, ran alongside athletes, and provided coaching. 

District officials told trustees that the individual was given access to a Team App and posted a schedule for unofficial summer workouts at some point in the summer. According to the records reviewed by KXAN, he also obtained numerous student cell phone numbers and began communicating and meeting with them over the summer. 

According to district records reviewed by KXAN, one of the school district’s coaches was called on Feb. 17 and informed about the individual's “prior last name and criminal history.” According to that record, the coach then reported the information to the school administration.

Emails released by the school district also reveal that at least one attempt to background check the “private coach” was unsuccessful. 

“I’d like to mention we did have a staff member approach [redacted] and explain to him he must have a name tag and gave him a volunteer background check form- but never returned it,” Vincent wrote in a Feb. 24 email chain with Trustee Kevin Walker and Superintendent Darren Webb. “That staff member was not operating as the person in charge of such practices, merely being diligent, and had no way of following up to verify it had been properly handled.”