GREEN BAY (NBC26) — More than a dozen community members came to a school board meeting in solidarity with a superintendent placed on administrative leave this week.
- Green Bay community members attended Thursday's school board meeting to stand in solidarity with Superintendent Dr. Claude Tiller Jr.
- The concerned citizens say they want more transparency from the board and they want to feel heard
- The board decided to place Dr. Tiller on administrative leave
- The leave comes after the board learned about Tiller's appearance on an Atlanta radio show
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
I'm Pari Apostolakos reporting live outside the Green Bay Area Public School District offices where earlier today the school board gathered to discuss litigation regarding Dr. Claude Tiller Jr.
"You take an opportunity, you bring a Black man, you put him in the highest position within the school district, and in less than one year you've got his head on the chopping block," Robin Scott, executive director of We All Rise said to reporters Thursday. "We're not comfortable with it, we're not going to stand for that as a community."
On Thursday the Green Bay Area Public School Board voted to close their meeting to the public as soon as it began, all in connection with the board's decision to place superintendent Dr. Claude Tiller Jr. on administrative leave.
"He was telling the truth in the way he knew how to speak," said Stephanie Guzman, a member of the community.
The leave comes after the board learned about Tiller's appearance on an Atlanta radio show. A former district administrator says Tiller made comments on the show that need to be made public.
"It is finally that we have one person in power that finally looks like us, and you're going to want to let him go and place him on administrative leave when this could be a learning experience," said Guzman.
Former district employee Saied Hassan also spoke in defense of Tiller.
"When Dr. Tiller came, he started reaching out to us. He started talking to us, he started listening to us. So, it meant a lot to us. We haven't had that from the previous leadership of the school district," said Hassan.
"Community leaders are listening and watching to how this unfolds," said Amanda Garcia, a Green Bay area school district parent. "Especially as Doctor Tiller is the first African American superintendent in Green Bay and we are concerned about a transition or what will happen to the momentum that Doctor Tiller started."
I stayed in the district office building until the board's meeting ended. I asked the members if they would be willing to comment and they declined. NBC 26 has spoken to Tiller multiple times requesting an interview. He says when he is able to, he will make a comment. Reporting in Green Bay Pari Apostolakos NBC 26.
