Gerald Hanks
During a public Houston Independent School District (HISD) board meeting last week, area activist Gerry Monroe, executive director of United Urban Alumni Association, created a stormy scene when he accused members of being more concerned with their salaries than with how they can help students.
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He also made it rain.
Captured on video, Monroe can be seen repeatedly asked members, “Need some money?” in an irritated tone:
“Won’t you give these people their money?” Monroe asked. “Because everything is money-driven around this place! You don’t care about those kids!”
He then tossed several dollar bills at the stage where the board members were gathered.
HEATED MEETING: Community activist throws money during @HoustonISD board meeting https://t.co/adhDRRiihG 💵💵💵 pic.twitter.com/3SqY7tTV3a
— ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) August 12, 2017
This isn’t the first time Monroe openly criticized HISD’s board; he also publicly posted a Google document on his Facebook page revealing the salaries of more than 300 district employees, nearly all of which exceed $100,000.
The document further shows more than two dozen HISD employees’ salaries exceeding $150,000.
Additionally, a community newspaper ran a report describing Monroe as a “consistent challenger of school closings and (an) advocate for district improvements,” and other criticisms of the district, including accusations of corruption, limited accessibility to board members and disparities in fund allocations.
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After Monroe left, HISD Board of Education Wanda Adams joked about the incident:
“So, we’re going to get the $3 that Mr. Monroe left behind and donate it to Madison High School.”
All joking aside, it is unclear how much money Monroe threw, or where the money went after the meeting.
