The husband of the Humble (Texas) Independent School District superintendent filed a sexual harassment and wrongful termination lawsuit Wednesday against the district’s school board president.
As reported by Houston Landing, Troy Kite, the former Humble athletic director who is married to superintendent Elizabeth Fagen, alleged in his lawsuit that board president Robert Scarfo made multiple “sexually charged” comments to him and inappropriately touched him over a five-year period.
"Kite also alleged Scarfo and other Humble board members illegally orchestrated his ouster from the district, which followed a board-backed investigator concluding Kite created a hostile work environment and made sexually explicit comments about colleagues," reported Miranda Dunlap and Jacob Carpenter for the Landing. "The allegations add to the chaos enveloping Humble, a district of about 47,000 students in northeast Harris County."
Kite retired in April, one day before trustees were scheduled to vote on his potential firing. In a statement at the time, Kite said he was “embarrassed” by some of his actions, though he also called the year-long investigation “anything but fair or efficient.”
Fagen has been on paid administrative leave since mid-May, when four of the district’s seven board members voted in favor of the move in a meeting she hurriedly exited, according to the Landing's Dunlap and Carpenter, adding the four trustees haven’t detailed their reasons for the vote.
In his lawsuit, Kite detailed several instances of inappropriate behavior by Scarfo dating back to 2019, including touching Kite and making “suggestive” comments toward Kite and other Humble employees. Among his claims, Kite in his lawsuit says Scarfo ran his hands down Kite’s chest, placed his hand on Kite’s lower back and stroking it inappropriately and placed his hand on Kite’s shoulder area while leaning his chest against Kite.
According to the Landing, Kite also alleges that Fagen acted as a “human shield” between him and Scarfo at a 2022 Houston Astros game when the board president acted “predatory.” (Fagen has said she disclosed her relationship with Kite to board members in March 2022.)
Kite said Scarfo’s alleged inappropriate attention to him became a running joke among Humble employees, with some of his colleagues playfully calling Scarfo his “boyfriend.”
Kite has also faced allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate on-the-job conduct — with district employees validating many of the claims, according to the Landing reporters.
Multiple district staffers said Kite made sexually explicit comments, including statements about women wearing “f— me heels” and warnings that women shouldn’t “get close to me wearing that,” according to a report by an investigator hired by board members. Several employees also described Kite as a short-tempered administrator who had thrown, slammed and broken objects while in the office.
Kite said he retired in April under pressure from unnamed trustees who said they planned to fire him if he didn’t leave.
“The constant sexual harassment that Plaintiff had to endure, combined with the illegal and unethical behavior of the Defendants since Plaintiff spoke up, finally pushed Plaintiff to leave the job that he loved,” Kite’s lawyers wrote in their lawsuit, as reported by the Landing.
