Humble (Texas) ISD has agreed to a $750,000 settlement with a former employee who filed a Title IX complaint against former superintendent Elizabeth Fagen's husband, then athletic director Troy Kite, for fostering a toxic work environment.
As reported by the Houston Chronicle, the district launched a months-long investigation into Kite in August 2023, after one of his employees filed the complaint against him. An independent law firm recommended that Humble ISD terminate Kite after concluding that he had violated Title IX.
Per the reporting of Ashley Soebroto and Elizabeth Sander, in May 2025, the employee sued Humble ISD, Kite, Fagen and several trustees for sex discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation for filing the Title IX complaint.
According to the settlement agreement in August 2025, the employee agreed to release Humble ISD from any Title IX allegations. The attorney will receive $500,000 from the settlement, and the employee will receive $250,000, Soebroto and Sander reported Thursday.
"The district's payout is the latest in a years-long saga involving the former superintendent and her husband, both of whom were terminated," the authors wrote. "An itemized report from last year showed that Humble ISD has spent nearly $2 million since 2023 on legal fees from outside firms tied to the initial Title IX investigation, as well as other complaints from Fagen and Kite."
Related: Former AD and Husband of Superintendent Accuses District of Sexual Harassment, Retaliation
In the original Title IX complaint, the employee said that Kite disclosed the employee's sexual orientation in an email to more than 30 people when mentioning their partner's name, Soebroto and Sander reported. The employee also said that they told Kite they were thinking of retiring because his leadership made the athletic department a toxic environment. Soon after, Kite began looking for a replacement, though the employee did not, in fact, retire until 2025.
"The investigation into the complaint found that Kite violated Title IX in interviewing candidates before he received an official retirement statement from the employee, which was not proper protocol," Soebroto and Sander wrote for Thursday's Chronicle. "An independent Title IX decision-maker, Giana Ortiz, also reviewed the complaint and found that Kite had created a hostile work environment with an inappropriate 'locker-room' atmosphere."
According to Soebroto and Sander, when the employee first brought the complaints to the district's board of trustees and asked for an investigation, the board asked whether the employee would accept a severance package and leave the district, according to the lawsuit. The employee was also sent home first on unpaid personal leave and later on administrative leave.
The lawsuit stated that the employee suffered loss of income; mental anguish; damage to their reputation; humiliation and embarrassment among colleagues; and other harm due to challenges on the credibility of the Title IX complaints.
