[T]he outgoing athletic director at Milton High School has accused the Milton School Board of racial discrimination in the hiring process for his successor.
Michael Jabour says the board chose not to offer the position to LeVar Barrino although he was unanimously recommended by the 11-member committee that reviewed applications and interviewed candidates.
The school board tabled a decision on the position at a finance meeting June 12, but Barrino confirmed he was directly notified he would not be offered the job.
“I have received a letter from the superintendent without any explanation of why,” he said in an email to VTDigger. Barrino said he is seeking legal counsel before answering other questions about the hiring process.
Jabour also pointed to Barrino’s not being offered a reason.
“There’s no explanation on why he wasn’t offered the job,” Jabour said. In a letter Jabour submitted Friday to administrators, he wrote, “Being a fellow black man, I can only assume that having two consecutive black men in this position was not what the school board intended.”
The school board has scheduled a special meeting Thursday evening. The district’s superintendent, Ann Bradshaw, said in an email that the board plans to make a statement regarding the athletic director position at that time. The meeting’s agenda includes an executive session to discuss contracts, followed by the statement, although it isn’t clear whether the two items are related.
School board Chair Lori Donna did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Jabour said the selection committee, which consisted of students, faculty members, coaches and administrators, “all decided LeVar was the right person for the job.” Jabour was not a member of the panel.
Barrino most recently served as the director of individualized services at the Boys & Girls Club of Burlington. Jabour’s resignation letter states that Barrino had signed a letter of intent regarding the Milton position and resigned from the Boys & Girls Club. Barrino did not immediately reply to an email seeking confirmation of this.
The allegations of racial discrimination in the Milton school system follow an incident earlier this month in which a Milton Middle School student’s mother said her daughter was suspended for reporting being called a racial slur by a fellow student. The school administration’s response to the incident led Black Lives Matter Vermont to call for Bradshaw, the superintendent, to resign.
Jabour accepted a position as activities director at South Burlington High School in April. He said he has offered to help train his replacement at Milton High School after the board makes a hire.