Fearing she will soon be fired, a California school superintendent says she will sue her district, reports NBC7.
The school board in the San Dieguito Union High School District voted 3-1 late Wednesday night to put Cheryl James-Ward on administrative leave.
“Call it what it is. They’re going to fire her. They’re not taking her back,” her attorney Josh Gruenberg said to NBC7.
A group of mostly Asian parents called for her to resign after she described Asian families as mostly rich.
“You cannot come to America and buy a house for 2 million dollars unless you have money, she said in answer to a question about why Asian students get good grades. “The whole family comes, parents, grandparents, they are there to support kids at home, whereas in some of our Latinx communities, they don’t have that type of money. Parents are working two jobs, they’re working sunup to sundown.”
Ward says her comments have been taken out of context and blames political opposition to her support for diversity and inclusion as the reason she is being punished.
Ward sat down with CBS8 to voice her frustrations.
“Sheer hell. Just sheer hell. Like, what the heck just happened. How did this happen? My intentions were never meant to harm, to hurt,” she said.
“I believe diversity, equity and inclusion should continue. We need to learn about each other. But not in a way that we are condemned and crucified and publicly lynched. Our school leaders need to be given the grace to engage in this conversation in a real way that makes a difference for kids.”
Ward also told NBC7 the board is retaliating against her for filing a complaint against board Vice President Michael Allman. Allman confirmed that the complaint against him is being investigated.
“I’m not going to take this sitting down,” she said. “I’ve been publicly lynched.”
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That is just plain inaccurate. Asians aren’t unified in a single thought pattern like cyborgs. Many of us Asian Americans are poor and will grow up that way and has no bearing on grades. Speaking in generalities like this is the very definition of bias / prejudiced. How can a chief of school not even know something that basic?