Furr High School Principal Bertie Simmons will remain on temporary leave as investigators look into a second set of "pretty serious" misconduct allegations, Houston ISD Superintendent Richard Carranza said Wednesday.

In his first comments about Simmons since she was placed on leave two weeks ago, Carranza said "multiple sources" at Furr High School have brought information to district staff that is "serious enough that we have to investigate those allegations." He declined to elaborate on the nature of the allegations or information provided.

"We want to get to the bottom of it so we can clear it all up," Carranza said.

Meanwhile, investigators have completed their review of the initial complaints against Simmons, in which she is alleged to have ignored direction on the district's dress code after Hurricane Harvey and threatened students with a baseball bat.

Carranza would not discuss any actions or punishment against Simmons in response to the investigation but said she would have been back at Furr High School on Wednesday if not for the new allegations.

Simmons' lawyer, Scott Newar, issued a written statement in response to Carranza's interview: "HISD's second 'investigation' clearly shows that the school district is engaged in an illegal and retaliatory 'witch hunt' against Dr. Simmons and her team - to the great detriment of Furr's students, parents, faculty and staff, and at the significant monetary expense of the district's taxpayers."

The first investigation came after several students complained that Simmons threatened the entire student body over the intercom if they did not comply with the campus dress code, Carranza said.

Just kidding?

An audio recording, which was submitted by a student and obtained by the Chronicle, captured Simmons' dress code remarks:

"And those of you that are not dressed in dress code, you are to go to the gym, because we have over there a baseball bat, and we're going to work you over for being out of dress code. You're going to meet with the assistant principal (indiscernible). We're going to have a long talk about following rules in this school. When we ask you to do something, we expect you to do it. And if you don't do it, we're going to start taking some action against you. So, I want to congratulate everybody that is in dress code today. Thank you."

Simmons has said any threats involving a baseball bat were playful and in jest, particularly given that she's 83 years old and about 5 feet tall. She also said principals had discretion to enforce the dress code, which was necessary at Furr High School to prevent gang activity.

Carranza said any threats to students "just won't be tolerated," regardless of Simmons' age and physical stature. He added that students also reported being threatened by Simmons with "tickets" if they failed to adhere to the dress code. The exact nature of the "ticket" threat was not clear, but Carranza said any insinuation that students would be taken to court - particularly students whose families are not living in the U.S. legally - was inappropriate. About 80 percent of Furr's student population is Hispanic.

"That's the real psychological trauma that was caused by these actions," Carranza said. "So, people should stop perseverating on an 83-year-old woman with a bat, and they should be thinking about the words that caused harm to these kids."

Carranza added that while other principals also enforced a dress code after Hurricane Harvey, they later were told the code must be relaxed.

Simmons, widely respected for coming out of retirement in 2000 and turning around Furr High School with a no-nonsense attitude, accused the district of age and racial discrimination on Monday. Her lawyer lambasted the district for its actions and alleged that administrators systematically are replacing white principals with nonwhite principals. Simmons is white.

Results pending

Carranza denied the allegation, calling it "absolutely not true."

"I will never allow race, gender or any of the protected classes to ever influence the decision of who gets selected and put in a position of trust with our students," he said.

A Chronicle analysis of state employee data shows a small uptick in Hispanic principals since Carranza's arrival at the beginning of the 2016-17 academic year. During that time, the number of Hispanic principals has increased from 95 to 102, the number of white principals has decreased from 63 to 59, and the number of black principals has decreased from 95 to 91.

The analysis does not include about 20 alternative and district charter schools because the state data does not include the name or race of the campuses' principals.

The analysis also showed 10 white Houston ISD principals were replaced in the past year by nonwhite principals. During the same time period, six nonwhite principals were replaced by white principals, according to data. It was not immediately clear how many principals were removed against their wishes.

The district's student population is about 91 percent nonwhite, and its principal population is about 78 percent nonwhite.

In an interview, Carranza repeatedly lauded Simmons' work for the district, calling the past two weeks "hard, because I respect Bertie tremendously as a principal." He said he did not have a timeline for the second investigation.

"If the investigation turns out that the allegations are unsubstantiated, there's nothing prohibiting Dr. Simmons from coming back and doing her work," Carranza said. "But that all depends on what's found in the investigation."