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Pilot Point ISD police chief resigns, superintendent cleared and reinstated after closed-door investigation
Pilot Point ISD Police Chief Eric Dortch resigned on Nov. 9, the same day Superintendent Shannon Fuller was reinstated following a third-party investigation that found no wrongdoing on her part. The district has released no details about the allegations or the probe, leaving parents demanding answers.
PILOT POINT, Texas â Pilot Point ISD Police Chief Eric Dortch resigned on Nov. 9, the same day Superintendent Shannon Fuller was reinstated following a third-party investigation, the district announced. The shake-up follows a month of paid administrative leave for both leaders that began with a complaint Dortch filed against Fuller, and it has left parents in this small Denton County community frustrated by the lack of public information.
Dortch was placed on paid administrative leave on Oct. 13 over what the district described only as "personnel matters." Fuller was placed on paid leave the next day, Oct. 14, after Dortch submitted a complaint to the district. On Nov. 9, district leaders received a verbal report from the third-party investigation and reinstated Fuller. A district press release said Fuller followed district policy when she put Dortch on administrative leave last month. Dortch then tendered his resignation that same day.
Dee Carter, who served as police chief during Dortch's leave, will remain in the role while the district searches for a permanent replacement.
The district has not disclosed the nature of Dortch's complaint, the allegations against either leader, or the findings of the investigation. When the leaves were first announced, the district said the matter did not involve the safety of children.
That silence has not sat well with some residents. Mary Willard, a Pilot Point resident whose children attended district schools, said the vague announcements only deepened confusion.
"It did nothing but raise questions and concerns," Willard said. "I think that in the community, we didn't even know what's going on, so for them to release without any context or any information further than what they stated was very concerning and just left us all with questions â and I really don't think any of the questions still have been answered."
Willard raised her concerns on the district's Facebook page, where other parents also pressed for transparency.
The episode has put a spotlight on how the district communicates with families about personnel matters. While school officials are often limited in what they can say about employee discipline, the decision to announce leaves and a reinstatement without explaining the underlying complaint has fueled speculation in a community where the superintendent and campus police chief are familiar figures.
Fuller is back at the helm of the district. Dortch is gone. And the investigation that led to both outcomes remains, for now, behind closed doors.