The head of an elite Houston private school announced his resignation Wednesday following a campus controversy over antisemitism and a pro-Palestinian student display.
Jonathan Eades, head of the Kinkaid School, which counts former U.S. president George W. Bush and his brother Jeb Bush among its alumni, faced intense scrutiny after faculty members awarded a prize to a student group at the school’s March Culture Fest. The group’s booth focused on Palestine and included a poster featuring a map labeling the territory of Israel, Gaza and the West Bank entirely as Palestine, effectively denying the existence of the Jewish state.
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Poster displayed at The Kinkaid School’s Culture Fest labels Israel, Gaza and the West Bank as Palestine, prompting accusations of antisemitism and criticism from Jewish groups
(Photo: Courtesy of StopAntisemitism)
The incident drew widespread condemnation after the watchdog group StopAntisemitism highlighted the display and said the presentation had won second place at the fair. Faculty members had given the award to the students behind the poster.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Houston pressed Eades on the matter, saying in a letter that “rejecting Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state is seen as a form of antisemitism that aims to eliminate the only Jewish state in the world.” The federation said the faculty award worsened the situation and sent “unintended but harmful messages to Jewish students and families.”
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz also weighed in on the incident on X, calling it “deeply disappointing.”
Liora Rez, founder and executive director of StopAntisemitism, said the organization learned of the poster from “concerned parents and community members who raised serious alarm about both the display itself and the school’s perceived lack of action.” The advocacy group welcomed Eades’ departure.
In a May 2 letter to the school community, Eades pushed back against criticism online and faulted social media posts about the incident. “These posts and their associated comments go against everything that Kinkaid stands for and how we teach our students civil discourse,” he wrote, while emphasizing that the school “will not tolerate antisemitism.”
Eades described claims that the school failed to act as misinformation. “These posts state that school leadership has displayed a lack of accountability and action regarding an incident that occurred at Culture Fest back on March 31,” he wrote. “Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is the School launched an investigation and is taking appropriate action.”
Eades also urged members of the school community to refrain from engaging in what he called unproductive and divisive speech online. It remains unclear whether any disciplinary measures were taken over the incident.
In announcing his resignation, Eades said the decision had been under consideration for a long time and that he was stepping down to prioritize his family. He said he was “under no duress or pressure to resign.”
The Kinkaid Board of Trustees backed that account, describing the resignation as a “thoughtful, deeply personal decision” made for personal reasons. School officials said the departure was not tied to any specific event.
However, unnamed sources familiar with the matter said the board had moved quickly to push Eades out. Evan Katz, chair of the board, will lead the search for a new head of school.
Eades has led Kinkaid since 2019, after being hired during the COVID-19 pandemic. Before joining the Houston school, he led St. Mary’s Hall, a private school in San Antonio, for more than a decade.
At Kinkaid, Eades earned a base salary of $500,000, with reports indicating his total annual compensation exceeded $1 million. He recently helped the school raise $200 million in a historic fundraising campaign.
“I am proud of the well-defined legacy I will leave behind,” Eades wrote. “Simply said, I’m leaving Kinkaid better than I found it.”
The resignation came amid further turmoil on the campus. The Memorial Villages Police Department responded Wednesday to a bomb threat at the school.
Police Chief Ray Schultz said an unknown caller using a spoofed California number claimed multiple bombs had been placed at the facility. Students and staff were dismissed while law enforcement officers and bomb-sniffing dogs cleared the building.
Authorities suspect the caller was likely a current or former student, but investigators do not currently believe the threat was connected to the Culture Fest controversy.