[B]URLINGTON — Although a lengthy investigation into possible racial discrimination by the Burlington School Board determined there was no evidence of bias, questions remain about discussions between officials that led to the complaint.
Daniel K. Troidl, a former Vermont State Police officer, conducted the investigation and authored the report that was released by the board last Friday. He had been asked to examine incidents that had allegedly occurred between March 2017 and Jan. 23.
At a special board meeting on that latter date, then-Chairman Mark Porter accused fellow school commissioner Jeff Wick of racial bias over some remarks Wick had allegedly made in a private conversation and because of Wick’s voting record, including a vote not to renew Superintendent Yaw Obeng’s contract.
Following release of the report, board Chairperson Clare Wool said, “The newly elected School Board and Superintendent are eager to move forward committed to the unified goals of the district. We are pleased the investigator found there was no employment discrimination.”
In addition to Porter, Wick and Obeng, the investigator also interviewed board members Stephanie Seguino and Liz Curry, and school district Human Resources Senior Director Nikki Fuller. Among them, Porter and Fuller were described in the report as the only two who had said they had first-hand conversations in which Wick allegedly made racially biased comments.
According to the report, Porter and Wick both agreed that a conversation about school district hiring practices had taken place last summer, but they differed on what was said and Wick also maintained his comments had been taken out of context.
At the Jan. 23 board meeting, Porter said that Wick had made the following statement: “I understand we need to hire more teachers of color, but have we gone too far in hiring district leadership of color?”
Porter, who following his remarks announced he would not seek re-election to the board, said Wick’s comments were “so egregious” that he felt he should air them publicly, especially in light of Wick’s decision to oppose a new contract for Obeng.
Along with Wick, school commissioners Kathy Olwell and David Kirk also voted against Obeng’s new contract. Olwell had said her vote was a result of tough economic news coming from Montpelier on school finances.
Obeng told Troidl that Wick did not deny making the remark cited by Porter, but said it “was taken out of context,” according to the report. Obeng said he was “shocked and surprised” by Porter’s accusation and said he had no idea Porter would be making such a claim at the meeting.
After hearing the statement, Obeng told Troidl that he wondered whether bias had played a role in his contract negotiations and believed he had appropriate grounds “grounds to file a human rights complaint.”
According to the report, Wick rejected Obeng’s assertion that Wick did not deny Porter’s accusation. Wick said he told Obeng immediately after the meeting: ”Yaw, ooh, I’m so sorry, that happened. I said ‘that’s not true. I didn’t say that.’”
The report indicates that Wick was the last person interviewed in a session that took place in the Burlington office of his attorney, Brooks McArthur. The attorney had accompanied Wick to the special February board meeting where school commissioners voted to launch an internal investigation into whether Obeng was the subject of racial discrimination.
Fuller, the human resources officer, told Troidl about a call Wick placed to her when he was running for the school board. She said Wick told her he was concerned that he was being called a racist, according to the report. The two were acquainted because Fuller had worked for Wick’s father, Jim Wick, while she was in law school.
“As an African-American woman, when somebody calls me with that kind of conversation, I’m already gonna have to tell them some bad news,” she told the investigator, “which is the fact you called me, to tell me that you want me to tell you how to not be a racist, is a problem.” Fuller said she turned down a lunch invitation from Wick, who she said had pointed to Obeng’s decision to trim Advanced Placement classes as harmful to his situation.
Fuller told Troidl that Wick feels Obeng’s focus was to eliminate things that benefited “middle-class, white kids. Wick told her that it was clear that Obeng had issues, because everything he was trying to cut was the white kids’ stuff,” the report said.
Obeng issued a statement following release of the report, saying he was pleased the new board is ready to move forward and tackle challenges, such as settling a new contract for paraeducators and closing of the achievement gap.
“They also resolved to review appropriate compensation for employees, receive training around the obligations of a board to avoid impermissible employment discrimination, receive implicit bias training, and support measures in place throughout the District which are designed to preclude discrimination from occurring,” Obeng said. “I am pleased to see the board is taking the issues of employment equity and discrimination seriously.”
Obeng, who had recently signed on for three more years as head of Burlington schools when the investigation started, also said he was looking forward to working with the new board to focus on closing the achievement gap and raising the bar for success for Burlington students. He didn’t respond to a question on whether he planned to file a human rights complaint.
Jay Diaz, staff attorney for the ACLU of Vermont, said that although the investigator concluded there was no bias he believes the report may be worth a closer look.
“If the statements expressed are true, and made in public,” Diaz said, “then the school board should address them.”
