Name: Official: Grand Ledge superintendent won't lose job over George Floyd comments
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Official: Grand Ledge superintendent won't lose job over George Floyd comments

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Lansing State JournalView CommentsGRAND LEDGE - The Grand Ledge Public Schools&nbsp;Board of Education has no plans to fire Superintendent Brian Metcalf, who Tuesday issued a public apology for on Facebook regarding George Floyd's death.Metcalf also said in a statement he'll enroll in "diversity and/or cultural awareness and sensitivity class to help me grow so that I may better respond in the future."In a statement issued Tuesday the Board of Education said its members are "deeply concerned" about Metcalf's statements about Floyd's death."There is no place for it among the leaders in Grand Ledge schools, who are expected to value diversity and inclusion," read the statement.&nbsp;"However, we do not believe the statement reflects his capability to learn and grow from this matter. Superintendent Metcalf has apologized and informed the Board that he will be taking sensitivity training. We will be monitoring the situation closely. We will be putting a letter of concern into his personnel file. And we will be watching to see that he has a chance to grow and learn from this experience. If there are further instances of this nature, the board reserves the right to take further action."Board of Education President Denise Dufort said district officials received emails, text messages and phone calls denouncing Metcalf's comments about Floyd. She plans to respond to all of them and said the last few days have been the most difficult in her time as board president."The board needs to hear people," she said. "We need to listen to how&nbsp;it's impacting the community."I feel very strongly that we as a board and Dr. Metcalf as an individual have a lot of work to do and we are very aware of that," Dufort said."I am deeply sorry for the statement that I posted," Metcalf wrote in an apology released shortly before the board's statement on Tuesday. "As the leader of a school district that seeks to encourage diversity and be welcoming to all, my words fell far short. I did not take into account the historic inequities that have characterized race relations in our nation for generations – and for that, I am sincerely sorry!"Metcalf's apology comes a day after he released a statement that claimed&nbsp;"mischaracterizations of the full conversation" Sunday on Facebook were made from&nbsp;"a lone screenshot," of his comments."To be clear, Dr. Metcalf called for an end to all the violence!" his statement read, in part.&nbsp;"In his comments, the Superintendent stated: what happened to George Floyd was wrong and that the police officer should (and will) face trial.&nbsp;The Superintendent also stated: burning businesses, breaking windows, and looting are also wrong."Dufort said that statement didn't adequately address what Metcalf had written on Facebook."That was a release that was not sanctioned by the school board," she said.Metcalf's comments Sunday were part of a response to&nbsp;a May 30 post&nbsp;by John Ellsworth, the school district's communications director, that read: "I yearn for peace and conditions to maintain lasting domestic tranquility. My thoughts are with Grand Rapids, the victims of injustice everywhere, and the blessed peacekeepers."Metcalf commented on Ellsworth's post, writing, "Burning, breaking windows, and looting is also an injustice -- what happened to Floyd was wrong! A criminal response is also wrong. Any statement otherwise, condones and perpetuates both criminal acts!!"In an additional response on the post he wrote,&nbsp;"...it all starts with being a law abiding citizen - had he not paid with counterfeit money, had he not resisted, had he not been under the influence -- then there would be no contact with officers; that does not excuse the officer; it just eliminates the conflict to begin with!! It starts with being a good citizen!"It&nbsp;came a week after&nbsp;Floyd, a black man, was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis, and the same day that a peaceful protest of police brutality at the State Capitol was followed by property damage and fires in downtown Lansing in what&nbsp;Lansing Police Chief Daryl Green&nbsp;called a "riot."Metcalf's comments, characterized as victim-blaming by many, were shared widely on social media and sparked quick community backlash and prompted at the school district's administrative offices. A crowd of about 40 people attended.Board of Education Trustee&nbsp;Sara Clark Pierson said the board statement was written by Dufort.Pierson said she didn't&nbsp;read it before it was made public&nbsp;and said she doesn't believe it's adequate."His apology and her statement did not adequately address the problem and there’s more to this process that I don’t believe the board has done," Pierson said. "I will say this. We are not done. This is not, by any stretch, something that we have resolved."Pierson said she spoke with Metcalf and several members of the community Monday. She asked Metcalf to tell her how he intended to right the wrong of his Facebook comments.When speaking to community members she listened, Pierson said."It’s been very painful, and I’ve been brought to tears by what some people have told me it brought up for them," Pierson said. "It’s awful and we need to understand the depth of it."Any sensitivity class&nbsp;Metcalf takes needs to be verified and sanctioned by the Board of Education, Pierson said, and they have not done that yet."For one thing, I don’t believe he’s the only one that needs it," she said.&nbsp;"More people probably need this training and frankly I’m probably one of them."READ MORE:Late Monday in a Facebook post Grand Ledge City Councilman Brett&nbsp;Gillespie publicly asked school officials to discipline Metcalf.Gillespie&nbsp;responded to Metcalf's post on Ellsworth's May 30 Facebook post, "Saying it doesn't excuse the officer's actions, while simultaneously blaming the victim for his past is essentially victim blaming at best. Excusing the officer's actions at worst.""I honestly am not sure how our school district can move forward without some serious repercussions," Gillespie wrote Monday. "The comments were bad enough. But I think I may have felt differently this morning had I not awoken to see a statement put out by the school district that made no apology. It showed no remorse nor an attempt to even show that Dr. Metcalf can understand how his comments made people upset."Parent&nbsp;Matt Newburg, 38, said he's emailed every board member about Metcalf's comments.Their public response isn't enough, he said. The board is sitting "silent" he said and it's disheartening."It’s self-preservation at its best," Newburg said. "This&nbsp;guy is deciding to save himself by attending a class. If he doesn’t understand in his position and at his age that it was&nbsp;extremely offensive a class isn’t going to fix it."The Board of Education is scheduled to meet next on Monday, during a meeting set to take place on Zoom. Dufort said the agenda hasn't been finalized, but the public will have opportunities to comment during the meeting.The link to join that meeting will be posted on the district's website later this week, Dufort said.She did not know whether an agenda item will be added to address Metcalf's comments.Contact Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com.&nbsp;Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ.View Comments

Lansing State JournalView CommentsGRAND LEDGE - The Grand Ledge Public Schools&nbsp;Board of Education has no plans to fire Superintendent Brian Metcalf, who Tuesday issued a public apology for on Facebook regarding George Floyd's death.Metcalf also said in a statement he'll enroll in "diversity and/or cultural awareness and sensitivity class to help me grow so that I may better respond in the future."In a statement issued Tuesday the Board of Education said its members are "deeply concerned" about Metcalf's statements about Floyd's death."There is no place for it among the leaders in Grand...

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Rachel Greco

Bringing you breaking news and info about the #LoveLansing area, MI state government & being a #Michigander. Also tweeting from @LSJgreenwhite, @LSJsports

Official: Grand Ledge superintendent won't lose job over George Floyd comments

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