- Dozens arrived at the Green Bay school board meeting ready to demand the reinstatement of Claude Tiller Jr.
- Tiller resigned Feb. 17
- The board entered into a closed session to discuss the hiring of an interim superintendent before the floor was opened to public comment
- Much of the public comment during Monday night's meeting suggests some members of the public believe Tiller was forced to resign
- Community commentary around the effects of systemic racism and white supremacy abounded for more than two hours
- Each volunteer speaker had five minutes to talk
- After the pledge of allegiance, a group of community members sang a rendition of "Lift Every Voice and Sing," often referred to as the Black national anthem
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Monday's Green Bay school board meeting saw dozens come to speak. Members of the community are asking the board to reinstate former Superintendent Claude Tiller Jr., despite the fact that tiller resigned on Feb. 17.
Green Bay student Philip Ross is the first student to have shadowed Claude Tiller Jr. while he worked as superintendent. He says when he first heard Tiller was embroiled in controversy over comments made on a radio show, he was in disbelief.
"But I was also very optimistic that Dr. Tiller could have a great outcome from this, but as well as, how could our community come together to show support for him?"
And show support they did. Dozens attending Monday's school board meeting open session to speak on Tiller's behalf.
"The decision to sideline the values we support, particularly regarding commitments to our students of color is not just an oversight. It's a deliberate act that undermines the very promises made by the green bay area public school leadership."
Before the meeting Monday the board released a statement to, in their words, "correct misinformation." The board says members and Tiller agreed his resignation was best for both sides and that they accepted his resignation in good faith and Tiller had legal representation.
"Every single time we came up here you didn't listen to us."
"Dr. Claude Tiller was putting strategies in place to address the root cause of the inequities that we are seeing in our school district."
Several of those who spoke say the school board are not taking community input into account, including a former board member who said the board should have waited for the video of Tiller's radio appearance to be made public before making a decision.
The board entered into a closed session to discuss the hiring of an interim superintendent before the floor was opened to public comment.
