Galveston superintendent: Comments at groundbreaking 'were not made to insult any female, but thank them for all of their hard work'

The head of the Galveston Independent School District (GISD) asserted that he meant no harm when he referenced a group of women during a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the new campus for the city’s lone public high school on April 26, according to an article in The Galveston County Daily News.

Superintendent Dr. Jerry Gibson called the women on a political action committee (PAC) that assisted with the acquisition of funds for the $189 million replacement of Ball High School “worker bees.” 

“They are going to get it done behind the scenes and keep pushing and take care of the details,” Gibson, who’s been at the helm of GISD since 2021, said during the ceremony, the publication reported. “Isn’t that right, men?” 

“They do their best to make us look good even though we don’t give them much to work with,” the superintendent added. “But we need a man to push this through.”

Several members of the Galveston community – in addition to GISD Board of Trustees President Anthony Brown – took issue with Gibson’s comments, per Galveston’s lone media outlet.

Brown visited its forums to apologize on behalf of the district.

Stating that he serves as the school board president, Brown’s post read, “Dr. Gibson’s comments … were in complete opposition to our district’s policies and the views of its board of trustees.”

“I cannot explain them and will not try to do so,” Brown continued. “However, since Gibson spoke as a representative of the district when he made them, I will apologize on behalf of the district.”

Brown, an attorney by profession, concluded his post saying he presented his comments “as both a trustee and a father of two adult daughters.”

“[My daughters] need no one to ‘push things through’ for them,” he said.

Gibson, who came to Galveston by way of East Texas where he was the superintendent of the Marshall Independent School District (MISD), said in a statement that he’s unsure whether policy was violated, the Galveston County Daily News reported.

“My comments yesterday were complimenting the ladies who worked so hard for the success of our school bond proposition,” he said in the report. “The comments were not made to insult any female, but thank them for all of their hard work for the students of Galveston.”

Gibson, who’s supposedly a candidate for a similar position in Florida, said he just wanted to give the ladies credit and the remark about how they ‘make us [men] look good’ was intended to be humorous,” the publication reported.

Houston NPR affiliate Houston Public Media (HPM) reported that Gibson was mum about his job search, even as GISD officials had issues with it.

As of press time, the school board was slated to hold a special meeting to address his remarks from a week ago.

A self-proclaimed critic of Gibson said his contract ought to be terminated, HPM reported.

"I feel like it's obvious the superintendent wants to be somewhere else other than Galveston ISD,” Laura Addison said in the report.