By LeaAnne Klentzman
At a press conference at the sheriff’ so last Thursday, officials announced the arrest of a FBISD teacher. According to authorities Terrie Rhodes, 46, an English Language Arts teacher at Fort Settlement Middle School was arrested for what sheriff’s spokesperson Terriann Carson characterized as an inappropriate and unlawful relationship with a juvenile female.
Carlson said the investigation is still active and ongoing. However, Rhodes was arrested early Thursday morning after nearly a two year investigation. She has been charged with Indecency with a Child/Sexual Contact and Improper Relationship between Educator and Student according to Carlson. Both charges carry a $15,000 bond each. At press time Rhodes was still in custody at the Fort Bend County jail.
Officials with the Fort Bend Independent School District said Rhodes had been a substitute teacher from March 2005 through May 2005. From August of 2005 through May of 2006 she was a library aide at Lake Olympia Middle School transferring to a position as an English Language Arts teacher at Lake Olympia Middle School from August 2006 through May 14, 2009.
“Rhodes was placed on administrative leave on May 14, 2009, because she “used inappropriate and unprofessional language through text messaging.”
This information was shared with the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s office at that time,” said a FBISD spokesperson. The school district also pointed out that Rhodes remained on administrative leave for almost a year pending the outcome of the Sheriff’s Office investigation. District spokesperson Nancy Porter said, “The Sheriff’s Office informed the District that it was conducting an investigation regarding Ms. Rhodes, but no evidence or specific information was provided to the District regarding the details of the investigation, and the District was not made aware of any allegations of improper conduct beyond text messaging.”
School officials said, “Rhodes is an educator with a Chapter 21 term contract under the Texas Education Code, which affords her specific statutory, contractual and due process rights. As no criminal charges had been filed against Ms. Rhodes, and because the district had no evidence of wrongdoing other than text messaging, Rhodes was returned to work on April 12, 2010 in a long-term substitute position at Garcia Middle School for the remainder of the 2009-10 school year. From August of 2010 until her arrest on April 6, 2011, Ms. Rhodes taught English Language Arts at Fort Settlement Middle School. As a result of her arrest Rhodes was placed on administrative leave pending further Board action on Monday, April 16, said Porter.
Anyone with information about this incident involving Terrie Rhodes, or any other, is asked to contact the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office at (281) 341-4685.
This just in …..
In action last night, Monday, April 12, the Fort Bend Independent School District Board of Trustees voted to terminate the contract of Terrie Rhodes, the Fort Settlement Middle School teacher arrested last week, for sexual contact with a student.
Rhodes, 46, was charged with indecency with a child and improper relationship between educator and student. She was arrested on April 7 at the school.
Rhodes was working as an English teacher at Fort Settlement Middle School, however, the arrest is reportedly for alleged incidents that took place in 2009 at Lake Olympia Middle School.