UVALDE, Texas ā Resolutions passed by the Uvalde CISD school board on Monday night took a backseat after families of Robb Elementary School shooting victims stood and left the auditorium together.
A woman stood up and started speaking in favor of the school district during the open forum part of the meeting.
One father stood and walked out, and the rest followed as she spoke. The crowd chanted, some with fists raised, āNo justice, no peace.ā
The Uvalde victimsā families are standing united.
āAs you saw, we are together. (The) majority of us are together, and when one of us goes, we all go. We stand together. That is āUvalde Strong.ā That is us being a community and sticking together,ā Brett Cross said.
One father only went back into the auditorium to grab the photo of his daughter seated in the front row.
Cross, Uziyah Garciaās guardian, said theyāre upset at the lack of accountability and ownership on the part of the school district for mistakes that led to the tragedy on May 24.
āTwo months, finally after I asked and asked and asked, finally said, āWell, everybody messed up, but we messed up.ā They couldnāt even accept that and say, āYo, we messed up,āā Cross said.
Berlinda Arreola, grandmother of Amerie Jo Garza, repeated over and over again that the families were not done calling for responsibility and accountability.
She said thereās only one side to be on in this situation -- the familiesā.
āYouāre either behind us, or youāre against us. Thereās no halfway in, halfway out. It doesnāt work that way, and weāre not going to sit here and let you tell us to our face what they did was right,ā Arreola said. āNo. You were not one of the 19 families, 21 families, affected by this. You have no right to stand and sit there and tell that to our faces.ā
Donny Ray has kids who attend Uvalde schools. He said he isnāt satisfied with what he calls the lack of safety changes on the part of the school board. Heās also mad that more of the Uvalde community isnāt showing up at these meetings.
āLook around, I mean, look around. This is supposed to be āUvalde Strong?ā I donāt see that many Uvalde residents here. I mean, where you at, Uvalde? I mean, come on, we need yāall, you know?ā Ray said.
KSAT asked Cross about his thoughts about the news from Robb Elementary principal Mandy Gutierrezās lawyer that Gutierrez had been placed on administrative leave with pay.
Cross said itās a start.
āShe needed to go too. Thatās another one,ā Cross said. āShe knew what was going on inside of her school, and if she didnāt, then obviously she was inept and shouldnāt be doing that damn job.ā
Another open forum meeting is planned for Aug. 8.