Ft Worth Times

The Itasca Independent School District (IISD) Board of Trustees voted on Monday to suspend Superintendent Michael Stephens in response to his arrest in an underage sex solicitation sting in the Houston area on Thursday. 

Authorities with the Harris County Precinct 1 Constable’s Office nabbed the 47-year-old Stephens and six other men in the operation.

Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) ABC affiliate WFAA reported that the school board held the meeting at 7 a.m. to discuss the fallout of Stephens’ arrest. 

Per the station, the North Texas public school district suspended Stevens with pay and appointed Keith Boles to its highest office for the interim. 

WFAA reported it’s not the first time Boles has served as IISD’s interim superintendent.

Board president Brian Bassett said there’s no apparent connection between the incident and any of the district’s students. 

Investigators accuse Stephens of proposing to meet who he thought was a 15-year-old girl in Houston for sex, Ft. Worth Times reported. 

It’s unclear whether Stephens and the suspects solicited any children.

“We are working diligently to resolve this situation in accordance with our legal counsel,” IISD said in a statement, WFAA reported. “Our students are safe and will continue to thrive and succeed with the dedicated attention and service brought by our outstanding parents and staff.” 

On the board’s selection of Boles as interim superintendent, the station reported, the district said, “[He’s] well known and respected by our community.” 

Boles said in a piece of correspondence he wrote the IISD community last year he has 32 years of experience in the education sector.

Per the letter, Boles has served as superintendent of numerous districts in the state. 

A year after he retired in 2019, the Jarrell Independent School District (JISD) brought him in as their interim superintendent. 

Boles and his wife, Sandra, reside in West.