Green Bay School Board Accepts Resignation of Superintendent Claude Tiller, Jr

It seems the video was deleted from the internet. However, the district has said it will release a copy it has of the video on Wednesday, following state law for open records requests.

After it’s second closed session meeting in three days – both nearly three hours long – Green Bay’s school board briefly returned to open session – only to accept Tiller’s resignation.

“I hope that you can sleep at night when our kids see that you guys did not defend Mr. Tiller,” Steph Guzman, a graduate of Green Bay’s public schools, shouted at board members as they exited the board room after the vote. “I hope you sleep at night. You’ll never be on that board again. I am telling you that right now.”

Tiller released a statement Saturday evening.  Claude Tiller’s statement on his resignation as superintendent of the Green Bay Area Public School District.  Click here to view the PDF file.

“This decision was extremely difficult to make, and comes after considerable deliberation, reflecting on the district’s needs, its future direction, and a collaborative consensus with the board regarding what serves the best interest of collective stewardship of the district,” wrote Tiller.

Tiller’s statement also addressed his radio appearance.

“In the days subsequent to my appearance on the program, it was disheartening to learn that select comments in my two-hour long interview were interpreted in a manner that inadvertently caused offense with some in our school community,” wrote Tiller. “It’s important to emphasize that my comments were specifically directed toward the broader systemic issues within public education that contribute to ongoing challenges. This perspective underscored our district’s dedication to driving positive change and improvement. My intention was to not call-out individuals but to highlight areas where our collective efforts can catalyze significant improvements in the learning experience for every child.”

“I’m incredibly sad about this,” said Laura Laitinen-Warren, a member of the board. “I’ve been a huge supporter of Dr. Tiller and he’s done a lot of good for the district and I want that to continue.”

Laitinen-Warren says the board only spoke to Tiller through his attorney.

FOX 11 asked her what was going to happen if Tiller did not resign.

“We didn’t conclude an investigation….I don’t know,” said Laitinen-Warren. “We don’t know.”

FOX 11 asked board member Andrew Becker if it wanted Tiller to resign.

“There are rules about commenting on these and I have no comment on that,” said Becker. “We accepted a resignation tonight and that’s the extent of what can be said right now.”

We also asked Becker if Tiller has threatened legal action and he told us to ask Tiller.

Becker encouraged the public to watch the video of Tiller’s radio show appearance.

“This is a majority-minority district and this is the message they’re giving to our children that if you voice your opinion, if you make a mistake – you’re done, you can’t say anything, you can’t speak up,” said Amanda Garcia, executive director of Casa ALBA Melanie, a Hispanic resource center.

“For all the people who don’t think or quickly say racism is still not happening, look at it,” said Robin Scott, executive director of We All Rise, an African American resource center. “It’s happening right here in your backyard. The superintendent couldn’t even be here seven months before he was pushed out because white people were uncomfortable.”

Leaders of groups like We All Rise and Casa ALBA Melanie say they are forming a group called United Front for Social Change to highlight inequities they say are happening in the district.

Meanwhile, school board members are back to the drawing board – looking for their third long-term superintendent in four years.

“Right now, I couldn’t give you a plan, but what we have to do is we all have to work together and that means everybody,” said Lynn Gerlach, a member of the school board.