Complaints filed by a parent against Longview ISD's superintendent are under review by the state education agency's investigations unit, officials said Tuesday. The Texas Education Agency's Division of Educator Investigations received a complaint from another division within the state agency and is reviewing it, said Lauren Callahan, a TEA spokeswoman. Longview ISD parent Jason Bates received an email Tuesday also confirming that his complaint against Superintendent James Wilcox was under review. Bates said the complaint pertains to Wilcox selling Primerica financial products and authorizing other Primerica representatives to give an on-campus sales pitch during a mandatory Longview High School staff meeting in October that, the district said, was called to discuss Hudson PEP testing. Bates, a parent of three students, said he first sent a complaint to the Texas Education Agency in October after obtaining information about the mandatory meeting. He was funneled through different channels and continued sending the complaint until it got to the right department and he received a response. "I kept sending them the same email until I got a response, whether it was 'leave us alone' or 'we're interested in what you're saying,' " Bates said. "I called and talked with them on the phone about getting someone to come out and listen to us and investigate what's happening in the district. They talked me through the proper chains to go through, and I basically kept going through their protocols. I wasn't satisfied with just sitting here waiting." Bates said he received a call about two weeks ago from the state agency's Office of Complaints, Investigations and Enforcement telling him it was reviewing the complaint and, if there was more to be considered, it would forward the complaint on to the appropriate department. Callahan said such action is typical for the state. She said anyone can file a complaint with the state agency. Typically, a person (such as a parent) submits a complaint and that complaint gets reviewed. "We review every complaint that comes into our building. We cannot just open an investigation on anything; we have to make sure, first of all, that we've got the jurisdiction and also that the complaint is valid," she said. If the state determines the complaint is valid and it has the jurisdiction, then it is forwarded to the appropriate department within the agency for further review. If an investigation is deemed necessary, the state works with the school district, sends preliminary findings, gives the district a chance to respond and then makes everything public, Callahan said. On Tuesday, Bates was notified that the portion of his complaint regarding whether Wilcox violated the Educator Code of Ethics was being sent to the Division of Educator Investigations. Other portions of his complaint were that Wilcox had violated local district policies, public information requests and the Texas Department of Insurance code by selling Primerica and requiring employees to attend a meeting at which a sales pitch was made. In its response, the agency told Bates local district policy violations are a matter for school boards to consider through a grievance hearing, public information request violations should be submitted to the Public Information Office of the Texas Education Agency, and insurance code violations should be submitted to the Consumer Protection department of the Texas Department of Insurance. Bates said he plans to stay in contact with the education agency about his complaint, but that he has not talked to the school board about it because he doesn't believe trustees would listen. "I don't think they'd listen to me. They have not taken me seriously so far," said Bates, who also launched an online petition calling for the board to seek a new superintendent. "I still receive emails and mail from teachers. They continue to tell me they've been waiting so long for someone to help. I'm fed up, and I won't give up." He hopes to see Wilcox, who as a retire-rehire is eligible only to work part time, terminated by the school board and "for the Longview ISD school board to look beyond our community for a new superintendent." Wilcox could not be reached for comment Tuesday; Longview ISD offices are closed this week for spring break. Longview ISD school board President Chris Mack was out of state Tuesday, but board Vice President John Preston said he was confident the Texas Education Agency would find no wrongdoing within the school district. Preston said it was not Wilcox who made a Primerica pitch to employees in October, it was a different Primerica representative. Preston further said such activity would not take place on district property again under direction the board gave Wilcox in the fall. "There are other guys who work for Primerica, and it was someone else who gave that presentation, so as far as Wilcox's involvement in that meeting, it's a zero, it's absolutely nothing," Preston said. So as you read this article from the LNJ Vice president John Preston States that Wilcox had ZERO involvement in the Primerica pitch to the teachers from a Primerica Rep. So answer me this, if he had zero involvement why did the board feel the need to reprimand him, and not allow this to happen on campus again? Mr. Preston are you also telling me that Dr. Wilcox would not get a percentage of the sales made by this rep? This is a pyramid scam company that is not on the approved list by the state to try to sell to teachers. You yourself said that this incident was a conflict of interest. Evidently the state of Texas believes this was wrong and they want to pursue an investigation. The TEA does their homework and you cannot pull the wool over their eyes. In the end the truth will be known that this man does not deserve to be a superintendent of LISD. This is just the start of my battle. I have made a promise to change our current broken lack of leadership, and I will not stop until the community is aware of all the issues you hide from them. You cannot sweep me under the rug, you cannot threaten me to stop, and it will only make me fight harder. I will not give up on our teachers, staff, students and administrators who want change. I WILL NEVER QUIT! Until our district is fixed! Thank You, Jason Bates