Texas
IL Texas superintendent responds to criticism over student safety and alleged teacher misconduct
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) -IL Texas officials are addressing mounting criticism over the school’s handling of student safety and alleged staff misconduct after a former teacher was accused of sexually assaulting a student. The concerns center around Jose Adrian Hernandez Grimaldo, a former Spanish teacher who allegedly sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl in a school bathroom and left bruises on a student with special needs in 2022.
Several parents reached out to KBTX expressing their concerns after learning Grimaldo was fired, rehired during an appeals process, and transferred to another campus while police investigations were still ongoing.
Erin and Michael Williams sat down with KBTX earlier this month to share their distress when their son was allegedly harmed by the same man. They said their son came home with bruises on his arm less than a month after the Spanish teacher was hired and felt the district continued to ignore parents’ concerns.
“You failed our children, and you continued to fail our children after I told you that they were not safe,” said Erin. “We know that multiple people have told you these things, and you did nothing, nothing,” Michael added.
The school met with parents Tuesday in two separate meetings to discuss safety and security protocols on campus. KBTX requested to attend the meeting but was denied. However, IL Texas Superintendent Eddie Conger did agree to meet with us. Conger declined to comment on specific allegations due to ongoing investigations but emphasized the school’s commitment to safety.
“I’m not going to be able to address any issues related to any ongoing investigations that the police may have, but I will be addressing, in general terms, just the process of any employee who may be terminated, working through that process, and then the employee’s rights,” said Conger. “What I plan to do is what we have always done, and that is to make sure that any and every allegation that we investigate, that all of our staff, all of our over 2,000 employees, that all of us are complying with the law.”
Conger, who has a background as a Marine infantry officer and has served for 20 years, outlined his priorities, including the safety of students and staff, good order and discipline, learning, and teaching. He noted that improving communication with parents would be a key focus moving forward.
“We only have four priorities immediately following that. And that is the safety of kids and staff, good order and discipline, learning, meaning the kids’ results, that it’s learning, and then teaching. But as part of our visit today, we’re going to be talking with parents on safety and security, the laws, the policies, and by policy I’m talking about the school board approves the policies, but also our procedures and our protocols,” said Conger.
When asked about his thoughts regarding concerns raised by parents, Conger stated that it was very important that any parent anywhere continue to raise those concerns up the chain of command.
“One of the things that IL Texas does not have the authority in public education and charter schools or public schools is the option to ignore. We don’t have an option not to address those concerns, but all the concerns need to be brought to the campus level, above the campus level, and then of course, all the way up to me as the superintendent,” said Conger.
Conger was also asked about balancing safety and security with teachers’ rights and added that as superintendent he will use every inch of his authority to ensure students and staff remain safe on campus.
“It’s a hard one for me to answer because you first have to remain to make sure that kids and staff are safe, period. It’s a zero-tolerance perfection expectation because I don’t care how many rules you have in place, if my granddaughter gets hurt, the system failed. If my children get hurt, the system failed. But in that environment, all of us, pastors, coaches, employees, employers out in town, every educator, we have to make decisions that are in the best interest of kids, and we have to err on the side of what’s in the best interest of kids versus the adults,” said Conger.
As far as any failures in the IL Texas system, Conger reflected on his time as a parent and grandparent.
“Anytime my granddaughter’s hurt, your system failed. My granddaughter’s hurt, I’m going to be upset. So that is my answer there. There is no satisfactory answer for any child to be hurt regardless of where you are.”
Conger concluded the interview by highlighting the importance of vigilance and the role of educators as the balance teaching and keeping students safe.
“If you see something, say something. It’s incumbent on all of us every day to make sure that we’re listening, and we’re watching, and we’re reporting. If you see something, say something. If you hear something, say something. And if the people you talk to don’t give you a satisfactory answer, push the issue all the way up the chain of command in any organization that you’re in,” said Conger.
“To every educator out there, thank you for the hard work that you do. I don’t think any of us fully recognize the work of teachers, the stress that they’re under, the low pay, the administrative requirements, and then just they’re pouring into kids to try to help the kids learn and to be a whole person. So please make sure that all of us are recognizing that work,” Conger added.
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Texas A&M has been hard at work attempting to rebuild the trenches on both sides of the ball thus far through the transfer portal window.
That journey has gone smoothly as well, with the Aggies landing offensive tackles Tyree Adams (LSU) and Wilkin Formby (Alabama) as well as interior linemen Coen Echols (LSU) and Trovon Baugh (South Carolina) on one side of the ball, and edge rushers Ryan Henderson (San Diego State) and Anto Saka (Northwestern) and defensive tackle Brandon Davis-Swain (Colorado) on the other.
Now, they have added another name to that mix on the defensive side of the ball, and have done so from another power conference talent.
According to multiple reports, the Aggies have gained a commitment from Illinois defensive tackle Angelo McCullom. He made his decision final following a recent visit to Aggieland.
Who is Angelo McCullom?
The sophomore defensive lineman has spent his first two seasons with Illinois and will have two years of college eligibility remaining.
The six-foot-two, 300-pound defensive lineman saw the field in all 12 games for Illinois this season and earned two starts. In his appearances, McCullom recorded 19 tackles, three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two quarterback hurries, and two pass breakups this season.
The sophomore was also on the field plenty throughout 2025 as he played 295 snaps, the most among Illinois interior defensive linemen, where he earned a 66.9 grade by Pro Football Focus.
McCullom saw the field quickly as a true freshman in the 2024 season, where he played in seven games and tallied two tackles, .5 tackles for loss, and .5 sacks.
The product out of Pickerington North High School in Lewis Center, OH, was a three-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting class. McCullom ranked as the No. 139 defensive lineman in the class and the No. 46 prospect in Ohio, per 247Sports, and committed to Illinois over the likes of Indiana and Pittsburgh.
McCullom now joins Davis-Swain on the interior, who committed to Texas A&M earlier this week on Jan. 5. The six-foot-four, 290-pound defensive lineman recorded 15 tackles, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and one pass defended for the Buffaloes this season.
And his addition now brings in an experienced player in a physical conference like the Big Ten, with the size and frame that can hold up and be productive in the SEC.
The two additions doesn’t mean the Aggies are done on the interior defensively.
Rather, far from it. And far from being done in the portal overall.
Alabama basketball had every chance to beat Texas on Saturday. Time and time again, UA pulled it close, only to blow the opportunity to win.
Instead, the Crimson Tide fell 92-88, dropping to 1-2 to begin SEC play, and taking its second straight defeat. Afterward, Nate Oats went off on his team.
“We got guys that don’t care enough to lock in and follow a game plan,” Oats said during his postgame press conference. “Losing doesn’t bother them enough yet. I don’t know how many losses it’s going to take ‘till it bothers them, but it’s bothering me. It bothers the coaching staff, and as soon as it starts bothering the players enough, I’m sure they’ll change.”
On the defensive end, Alabama couldn’t get enough stops when it needed to. Texas’ Jordan Pope led all scorers with 28 points, tying his career high.
Dailyn Swain and Tramon Mark had 18 each for the Longhorns. UT averaged 1.314 points per possession.
Alabama’s defensive efficiency dropped to 79th in the nation following the loss according to KenPom.
“All of it starts with effort,” Oats said of the defensive issues. “Want to. Competitive edge. Guys who just don’t want to lose, they’re gonna give you everything they got. Guys are apparently too comfortable with losing right now because they’re not giving us everything they got on that end of the floor. SO I think it starts with having guys that just refuse to lose, to start with.
“From there it goes to guys in the moment having some personal pride on stopping their man. Too many blow-bys.Too many isolation plays were just beat one-on-one. Guys not locked in on the help side.”
Another issue for Alabama late in the game was poor free-throw shooting. UA hit 11-of-12 attempts in the first half, but went just 8-for-15 from the line in the second, which became crucial as the referees made their presence known late.
Oats was asked what went wrong from the charity stripe.
“When you’re worried about the wrong stuff,” Oats said. “When you’re locked in, you’re locked in. When you’re locked into defense, all you care about is winning the game. And when you’re locked in on the defensive end, then you go to the line and you’re locked in and you’re just focused on winning the game, you’re gonna step up and you’re gonna make your free throws.
“And when you’re worried about a lot of stuff that’s a distraction and you’re worried about stats and some other stuff and you’re not locked in, that’s when you get to the line and you miss. Especially when you’re a good shooter. Guys that should be making free throws at a high level.”
Alabama travels to Mississippi State on Tuesday to try and get back on track, before a Saturday trip to Oklahoma. Oats did offer some hope that his team would improve, drawn from the team that just beaten the Crimson Tide.
Texas coach Sean Miller had called out his team after its previous loss to Tennessee.
“It bothered Texas,” Oats said. “Texas lost two in a row and started 0-2 (in the SEC). That team looked a lot different than the team that played at Tennessee. So it obviously bothered them enough to change. So hopefully at some point it bothers our guys enough that they’ll invest on the defensive end of the floor.”
Tristan Jernigan, a Texas A&M sophomore linebacker who was a four-star prospect in high school, has signed with Cal out of the transfer portal.
Jernigan comes to Berkeley with three years of eligibility after seeing action in just two games this season. He played against Notre Dame without any stats and had three tackles, including one tackle for loss, against Samford.
He is the second members of the Aggies’ squad to join the Bears, following defensive end Solomon Williams, who signed last Sunday.
The 6-foot-1, 230-pounder from Tupelo, Miss., also drew interest from Tennessee, Memphis, Louisville, Ole Miss, Arizona State, Baylor and San Diego State.
Jernigan played eight games as a true freshman in 2024, primarily on special teams. He had 11 tackles, including five against McNeese State, and was named the team’s defensive scout team player of the year.
At Tupelo High School, Jernigan had 177 tackles with 11.5 sacks his final two seasons. Those teams compiled a two-year record of 22-4 with a Class 6A state semifinal appearance as a junior in 2022.
He was rated by 247 Sports as the No. 28 linebacker prospect in the class and the No. 9 recruit in the state of Mississippi.
He is not related to former Cal linebacker Myles Jernigan, who was from Grand Prairie, Texas, and spent five years in Berkeley through the 2023 season.
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