GREEN BAY (NBC26) — Green Bay Area Public School (GBAPS) District board members reflect on superintendent Dr. Claude Tiller Jr.'s resignation process and highlight what's next for the district.
- GBAPS Board members share what's next after superintendent Dr. Claude Tiller Jr. resigned on Saturday.
- Dr. Tiller was placed on paid administrative leave following comments made on an Atlanta-based radio talk show.
- Becker & Lyerly reflect on Tiller's impact on Green Bay in short tenure.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
"No one was expecting last week," Green Bay Area Public School Board Vice President, James Lyerly, said about Dr. Tiller stepping down.
"It's been a hard week," Lyerly said. "If you polled the board members, I think you would get a general sense that everyone was trying to be as thoughtful as possible."
On Saturday, the school board unanimously accepted Tiller's resignation.
Last week, the board placed him on administrative leave after he made comments on an Atlanta-based radio talk show.
The Board said a recording of the show will be released Wednesday.
In a statement, Dr. Tiller, without getting specific, said he simply spoke his truth.
Board member Andrew Becker said even in his short time, Dr. Tiller left a mark in Green Bay.
"One thing Dr. Tiller did that was new for us, and I think was really exciting, is making it a priority of getting into school buildings more," Becker said. "He would almost every day would be starting days by visiting one or two schools and just talking to students."
Both Becker and Lyerly said finding a new superintendent is the priority.
Deputy Superintendent Vicki Bayer will take over as acting superintendent for the time being.
Dr. Tiller was the first black superintendent of the Green Bay area Public School District, where the majority of students are people of color.
I asked if Tiller's departure set the district back in pursuing greater diversity in jobs.
"It's not about setting a number and saying we're going to do this many like that," Becker said. "What we need to do is become a strong employer that people from a wide range of the of the country would be interested in Green Bay."
"There are issues and there are opportunities for us to do better as a district as a community and that's always been the case," Lyerly said.
Lylerly said that the plan is to have a closed meeting on Feb. 26th to discuss the next steps in finding a new superintendent.
