Scranton School Board: union president's remarks hurtful, promoted stereotypes
Feb. 18—Comments made by the president of the Scranton Federation of Teachers earlier this month perpetuated negative stereotypes and hurt many members of the community, Scranton school directors said in a statement released Thursday.
"Whether perceived or intended, (Rosemary) Boland's words convey an image of our students and their families this board does not endorse," the statement reads. "We are confident that the teachers who educate these students would not abide it either."
A petition online, signed by more than 250 people, calls for her to resign as union president. During Feb. 1 and 8 school board meetings, Boland spoke about the challenges the district faces with resuming in-person instruction.
"We have children from families who are underserved by our medical community, nobody thinks about them," she said Feb. 1. "Our black children, our brown children, our immigrant children, we don't know who in their family has had COVID. We don't know if they've been vaccinated because we don't know any of that because nobody has documentation for that part of our population."
On Feb. 8, during a meeting in which public comment started at 11 p.m. and the board voted after midnight to resume in-person instruction for elementary students, Boland spoke about trying to control transmission of the virus.
"Our students go home. They are not going home to the Donna Reed home, they are going home to homes in Scranton School District," she said. "Do you know our students? Do you know our families? Do you know some of our students have been in Philadelphia? They have been in New York, so some member of a family could take care of them. Do you know they've left the United States and that they have returned and there is no way we can figure out who has been or not has been positive with COVID."
Sarah Cruz, the first person of color elected to the school board, said while research shows members of minority communities are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus, white people can also get and spread COVID-19. The comment on Feb. 1 bothered Cruz, and Boland's words on Feb. 8 felt paralyzing.
"My director title and status was stripped away," Cruz said Thursday, recalling how she felt the night of Feb. 8. "I was just a dirty brown girl sitting at my immigrant mother's kitchen table."
Boland, in her 16th year as union president and whose membership elected her to another term this week, said Thursday she made those statements with the health and safety of students, staff and the community in mind.
"If those words have been perceived by anyone as being hurtful, that was never the intent. That was never my intent to cause that kind of feeling. I want the people to know that," she said. "The intent was to always step up and fight for our students."
Erica Tosh, the mother of four biracial children in the district and creator of the petition, wrote that Boland "managed to make me feel like my children would be blamed for any spread of COVID if they returned."
"A person who believes it is OK to make racist comments about my children should not be the head of the people teaching my children," Tosh wrote.
Cruz emailed Boland on Feb. 10, and the two met Wednesday to discuss the remarks. Solicitor John Audi listened to the conversation by phone.
"It was hoped that a constructive conversation might endeavor to improve communication and acknowledge the impact words can have," according to the statement from the board. "It was hoped that an opportunity to rectify the situation might be identified. Unfortunately, that was not the result."
Cruz said she explained to Boland why her words were perceived as being racist and said that for the good of the district and community, she should consider resigning as union president.
"I do not ever project racism," Boland said Thursday. "I detest that. My life is a testament to that. I'm not a racist. If that is what they are perceiving, it's very, very unfortunate. I'm sorry they are perceiving it that way. I have a history of speaking up for kids, working for kids and working for parents my whole life."
Contact the writer: shofius@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9133; @hofiushallTT on Twitter.
