After uneducated remark about Native Americans, Kansas education commissioner must go
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has called on Education Commissioner Randy Watson to resign over his horrifyingly insensitive remark about Native Americans at a recent conference.
Watson told conferees that when he was a kid, his cousins feared coming to Kansas because of tornadoes, according to a video released by state officials Thursday.
“I’d say, ‘Don’t worry about that,’“ Watson says. “’But you’ve got to worry about the Indians raiding the town at any time,’ and they really thought that, you know.”
Watson has reportedly apologized in private for the remark. Nevertheless, Kelly is right that he has to go.
“The state and the Kansas Board of Education must take issues of derogatory and discriminatory language seriously,” the governor said in a statement. “There is no question that Randy Watson must resign his position immediately.”
Watson’s service as the state’s chief education officer has been otherwise laudable, particularly given the pressure from lawmakers who want to destroy the public education model in the state. Like all public officials, he should be allowed to make the occasional rhetorical mistake.
But this mistake goes beyond that, and damages Watson’s credibility in a way that hurts the schools. When the elected Kansas State Board of Education meets Friday to discuss the issue, its members should make that point clear.
This isn’t a case of political correctness run amok. It’s the state’s responsibility to hold its executive officers to account for statements and actions that threaten quality schools for all. Watson’s statement fits into that category.
The state BOE can fire Watson if it wants, or discipline him in other ways, or take no position on his comments. We hope he will spare the members a difficult vote by stepping aside.
Discriminatory comments are always unacceptable, but they are disqualifying for a state official. Watson should quit.
Editor’s note: This editorial has been updated after the release of the video with a transcription of Watson’s remarks.
