Texas superintendent suspended after trans student was booted from high school musical

Two weeks after he was cast in the lead role of his high school’s fall production of Oklahoma!, Texas senior Max Hightower was told by the school’s principal that a new policy mandated casting by gender at birth.

Max was booted from the show, and the entire production was postponed to January.

Related:

School kicks trans teen out of high school musical because he wasn’t born a boy

The school district said the policy is needed to address the musical’s “mature adult themes.” But the student is fighting back.

Now, the superintendent of schools for Max’s district has been suspended by the board of trustees, a decision they say is related to an investigation into the trans student’s removal from the musical.

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After a nearly four-hour closed-door session on Friday, Sherman Independent School District Superintendent Tyson Bennett was suspended with pay.

In November, the principal at Sherman High School in Sherman, Texas, north of Dallas, told Philip Hightower, Max’s dad, “‘We’re instituting a new policy where only males can play males, and only females can play females.’”  

Publicly, the school district claimed Oklahoma! was on ice because the 1943 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “contained mature adult themes, profane language, and sexual content.”

“Unfortunately, all aspects of the production need to be reviewed,” an unsigned statement from the Sherman Independent School District read, “including content, stage production/props, and casting to ensure that the production is appropriate for the high school stage.”

“It struck me as kind of odd because it’s Oklahoma!” Max’s dad told NBC Dallas-Ft. Worth. “Maybe I saw the abridged version, but it’s not Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

The statement also claimed, falsely, “There is no policy on how students are assigned to roles.”

Just days later “after further review,” the district said it was swapping out the Oklahoma! script “intended for an older audience” to a version “suitable for all ages.”

“By utilizing a new version that’s age appropriate, sex will not be considered when casting the new production. Students will be able to play any part, regardless of whether the sex of the character aligns with the sex of the student assigned at birth.”

Then at a packed board meeting on November 13 — crowded with supporters urging members to “Let the students sing!” — the board voted 7-0 to reinstate the original cast and script. More than 60 people registered their criticism and dismay over the school district’s high school musical fumble.

“We understand that our decision does not erase the impact this had on our community,” the board’s president, Brad Morgan, said at the time, “but we hope that we will reinforce to everyone, particularly our students, that we do embrace all of our board goals, to include addressing the diverse needs of our students and empowering them for success in a diverse and complex world.”

Sherman High’s production of Oklahoma! bowed January 19 for a three-night run.

At Friday’s board meeting, trustees adjourned to the closed session to address “personnel matters” and the “investigation concerning ‘Oklahoma!’ production issues,” according to the board’s public agenda.  

“I’ve always told my kids, when it comes to good people versus bad people, I’ve always said there’s more of us than there are them,” Philip Hightower said following the board’s vote in November to reinstate Max and his castmates in the show. “But it wasn’t until all this started that I kind of have proof now. Who would have thought, in nowhere Texas, in a deep red state, this much support would show up.”