Widow of Alvin ISD principal speaking out against district's plan to name future school after him
ALVIN, Texas - The widow of an Alvin ISD principal is speaking out against the district's plan to name a future school after him.
Amy Castro says shortly after her husband, Leroy Castro, died of COVID-19, she received a call from the district telling her they wanted to name a future school after him that would open in 2023.
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"As time goes on, I’ve realized that what should have been an honor, really was not an honor," said Amy.
Leroy passed away in 2020 after he got sick about two weeks after students were allowed to come back to school in person. He was the principal of Alvin Jr. High.
"As my husband started the school year in 2020, he picked his benefits, and he was so convinced he was going to get COVID, he opted for additional life insurance," said Amy. "He did that, submitted his information, and thought everything was fine."
She says money was being taken out of his check. It was only when Leroy was on a ventilator, she received another call from the district informing her that an additional form was need to receive the insurance.
"Well the problem is, he never did feel better, and he died thinking he had this insurance," said Amy.
Amy says after speaking with the insurance company, she learned they rely on the school district to notify employees.
"I went back to my husbands emails, I checked his work and personal email and did not find anything," said Amy. "To add insult to injury, that’s when she said we don’t babysit our employees."
Leroy contracted the virus in October 2020 and died shortly after in November.
FOX 26 reached out to Alvin ISD, in a statement, they say:
"Our desire is to move forward in a way that honors Principal Castro’s legacy while also honoring his family’s desires."
"If they wanted to honor him, they need to do 1) go and look at how they do this notification process and do better by their employees," said Amy.