Shimon Prokupecz, Matthew J. Friedman, Rachel Clarke

(CNN) — Uvalde’s school board hired new lawyers Monday night as its members tried for a third time to be open about the circumstances of the 2022 massacre at Robb Elementary, any problems beforehand and what happened afterward.

Board members heard there may be a million pages of public records still to be released, despite a court-ordered deadline that has come and gone and two unanimous votes by the board to publish all documents related to the shooting.

Lawyers at Walsh Gallegos coordinated two releases of emails and other documents on behalf of the school board, but CNN reported how gaping holes remained, surprising and angering board members.

School board president Laura Perez told a special meeting held Monday: “We hear it from the media before anywhere else, and that’s not fair.”

CNN revealed first that files relating to school safety concerns before the shooting and about a possible payout to the police chief being blamed for the failed response were missing. After the second release, CNN published maintenance records showing problems with closing doors that were also withheld. Lawyers for CNN and others in a media coalition requesting the public information noted other areas of concern.

Nineteen children and two teachers were killed May 24, 2022, when a teenage gunman walked into Robb Elementary and started shooting. Much attention has been paid to the failed law enforcement response that took 77 minutes to stop the gunman, though the first officers were on scene within three minutes of him entering the school. But a report by the Department of Justice also found the school district had a “culture of complacency” about locking doors, and that “inaccurate information combined with inconsistent messaging” – some of it from the school district – “created confusion and added to the victims’ suffering.”

Perez said: “This is why we’re seeking another law firm. This is why we’re seeking help, why we’re asking for guidance, because in the public’s eyes and our eyes, it looks like there’s a cover-up.”

The board voted unanimously to engage the Thompson & Horton firm, while maintaining a relationship for the time being with Walsh Gallegos.

But the frustrations with their existing legal team were clear.

Board member Jaclyn Gonzales said the group did not know what documents were available. “We don’t know if the data is accurate with our attorneys, if we have the right information,” she said, asking Thompson & Horton managing partner Philip Fraissinet whether his firm could do an audit so they know what information exists.

Jesse Rizo, a board member and uncle of Jackie Cazares, one of the children killed in the shooting, backed the call for an audit. “I have zero confidence in Walsh Gallegos and the advice – the ill advice – that was given to us time and time again from the beginning.”

Walsh Gallegos said there was an error with the first release of 3,547 pages that it was going to rectify with subsequent releases that total 25,120 pages. CNN has reached out to the firm for comment on the ongoing problems and the board’s actions.

Gonzales said questions were still reverberating around the Texas town.

“There’s so many people in our community that are impacted by it, and then it just looks like we’re hiding, and I just want to release it,” she said.

Answering questions before the vote to hire his firm, Fraissinet promised to follow the board’s direction taking note of the special circumstances.

“These aren’t just legal games or legal issues, but there are lives and families in that community affected by all of this,” he said.

The ongoing impact was voiced by Amy Franco, a teacher at Robb who raised the alarm that the gunman had come onto campus and inside the school.

“Tonight is round three of releasing the records. Are you all not tired of this already?” she asked the board. “This is exhausting. This is like never-ending lies, betrayal and cover-ups.”

Franco said she had been told there were 1 million pages that needed to be reviewed and released, a number repeated by Fraissinet as he cautioned the work would take time.

Vincent Salazar Jr. has been a fixture at school board meetings since his granddaughter Layla Salazar was killed. “I’m going to be here because I had told you that I will stand beside these children till we get the justice they deserve,” he said.

Families like his would never be healed, he said, saying his wife had recently died, heartbroken by the loss of Layla, their only granddaughter. But the release of records was still important, he said.

“I don’t know what you have to do to get the truth out of people, but if you want to move on in this town, we need the answers.”

The-CNN-Wire
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