KIRBYVILLE, Texas — A Kirbyville educator's decision to transition their gender has caused some controversy in the community.
Three people spoke up about the situation during the public comment section of Kirbyville Consolidated Independent School District's school board meeting Tuesday night.
Some parents say they thought their kids wouldn't be exposed to an issue like this in a town like Kirbyville.
However, after the board meeting, it's clear this issue isn't going away.
One person defended the elementary school educator and two others spoke up against them.
"If we don't address this in a proper way, this is gonna get out of hand, and people around here are mad, they're mad and I hope they ain't gonna put up with it," one attendee said.
"We join a long list of people in the human struggle in the position to place the values of equality and fairness before the angry mob," another attendee said.
Law enforcement was on hand at the meeting, but the conversation stayed civil.
Prior to the meeting, 12News spoke with Kirbyville CISD Superintendent Stephen Edwards about this situation.
He says there isn't much he can comment at this time.
"As an employer, we aren't free to discuss personal lives of our students or our staff. So, it would be a confidential human resources matter," Edwards said.
This situation in Kirbyville harkens back to a 2014 fight in Lumberton, when a transgender substitute teacher was suspended and later reinstated.
This reinstatement came after the district said they "had to follow the law."