Walter Fields, founder of the Black Parents Workshop of South Orange-Maplewood Public Schools District (SOMA), released a statement regarding last Friday’s firing of Superintendent Ronald Taylor. This statement, published in full below, praises the School Board’s 6-3 decision to put Taylor on immediate administrative leave, especially after the “no-confidence” vote of the local teachers union, which followed BPW’s own vote of no-confidence. The statement castigates those who claim “discriminatory intent” because Taylor is Black, the three school board members who voted against the dismissal, those who support “de-leveling” of course—“Black students want more rigor, not less,”—and those who “think so little of Black students’ intellect and abilities to suggest that the district aim for the floor rather than the ceiling.”

For background, see here.

As the founder of the Black Parents Workshop (BPW), and one of the principal authors of the organization’s legal brief against the South Orange-Maplewood School District, it is clear to me that the decision by the Board of Education to put Superintendent Dr. Ronald Taylor on leave was appropriate and necessary. BPW issued an earlier statement of no-confidence in Dr. Taylor due to his failure over three years to lead the district’s compliance with the settlement agreement it signed because of BPW’s litigation. The Fergus report is unmistakable evidence that under Dr. Taylor the district was failing to move the needle on equity. Lest we forget that Dr. Fergus’ work was delayed because of the failure of the superintendent to provide the district’s equity consultant with necessary data. It was time for a change.

It is laughable that individuals are suggesting discriminatory intent over the Board’s action because Dr. Taylor is a Black man. The only thing BPW cares about is effective leadership, regardless of race or ethnicity, which will lead SOMSD in a way that Black children receive a quality education. This organization stands on the principle of accountability and has a track record to prove it. It seems that those who are now crying foul over Dr. Taylor’s demotion are the same individuals who claimed that BPW’s lawsuit was “frivolous,” money-driven, or without merit and have consistently been keyboard cowards and rhetoric revolutionaries when it comes to confronting systemic injustices facing Black children. This includes some Black residents of SOMA. The Black Parents Workshop is the only community organization in South Orange and Maplewood that has legally challenged systemic discrimination and bias in the school district. It is why we have legal standing in federal court. If as much effort was put into fighting for Black children as is defending incompetent and failed leadership, the Black Parents Workshop’s lawsuit would not have been necessary. And for the record, silly social media posts attacking BPW are just that, silly.

The scare tactics some individuals, including current Board Members, tried to use during the recent Board of Education special meeting was pathetic. Board Member [Courtney] Winkfield’s attempt to play the guardian of Black men was insulting and patronizing. Where was this concern when Maplewood police assaulted young Black men and it was BPW that came to the aid and defense of the victims? Board Member [Qawi] Telesford’s defense of the superintendent rings hollow since I do not recall him making a single comment as a private citizen about conditions impacting Black children in the district when BPW filed its lawsuit and signed a settlement agreement. Concerns raised by Board Member [Arun] Vadlamani over possible legal repercussions from the Board’s action on the superintendent are disingenuous. The greater concern should be the legal repercussions of not complying with a settlement agreement supported by the compelling evidence in the findings of Dr. Fergus’ audit. The excuse gymnastics at play to defend the indefensible simply validates the work of BPW and the claims of the teachers’ union.

Raising the issue of academic “levels” in the 11th hour was a red herring. BPW’s initial critique of leveling was based upon our suspicions, now confirmed, that the district was tracking Black students into less rigorous classes. Dr. Fergus’ report indicates that Black students want more rigor, not less. The way to fix this practice is to provide the necessary academic interventions, with budgetary support, which will help facilitate Black student enrollment in advanced Honors and AP courses. We never advocated for the watering down of academic standards or the dumbing down of the curriculum. The Fergus report did not recommend deleveling. So, why is the work of this Black man, Dr. Fergus, disrespected by those feigning outrage over Dr. Taylor’s demotion and suggesting it was racially motivated? It makes absolutely no sense, coming out of the Covid pandemic with academic achievement faltering, that anyone would push the idea that “less is more” and think so little of Black students’ intellect and abilities to suggest that the district aim for the floor rather than the ceiling.

There is now an interim superintendent, and the district has three years to comply with the BPW settlement agreement. It’s time for SOMSD to get serious about equity. The district can and must do better by Black children.