Editor’s note: The Rev. AnThony Pelham presented this speech at the Lancaster County School District board meeting March 19.
This evening, I appear before this Board of Trustees as the chief spokesman for the Delegation for Minority Affairs. I am here tonight on behalf of all children, however, particularly the Black and brown children at Southside Early Childhood, Lancaster High, A.R. Rucker, Clinton, South, Brooklyn Springs and Erwin — schools serving high populations of children who look like me and who you know are struggling, and, in many cases, failing academically and socially, while being housed in schools/learning environments that are old and outdated, dilapidated, unsafe and inferior in comparison to those located in the Panhandle.
Black and brown children and youth (many of whom are living in poverty), which the data shows requires a Strategic Plan of Accountability (such as the Former Strategy 9 Plan developed by this district), along with similar and extra resources for them to achieve an equal level of success such as their comrades living in Indian Land and the surrounding areas.
In my 20-plus years of serving this community, these children have been continuously neglected by this Board of Trustees as you continue to sit before and recite your mantra of “Putting Our Children First,” when in fact your past and present deeds and actions necessitate that it should state “Putting Certain Children First.”
This has proven to be the case again as we see how monies in the upcoming bond referendum are proposed to be allocated. None of the failing and underperforming schools with high populations of Black and brown children are receiving adequate funding to provide new and safe buildings, additional teachers and other resources needed to enable them to be successful contributors to this community and society.
That, however, is an issue for our next conversation with you. Tonight, I am here to gain clarity regarding the mismanagement of taxpayer dollars by this Board of Trustees and the inequity in pay regarding our newly hired superintendent.
It has always perplexed me that this board can never seem to find or allocate monies to ensure that the resources and needs of children located in our Black and brown communities are met, however, based upon review of the unanimously agreed upon contract of our outgoing superintendent, this board has found $254,972 to basically give away. Monies that could have been used to provide additional programs, support and resources for children in our district.
Tonight what the DFMA wants to know from this board is this: why did this board unanimously decide to accept our former superintendent’s decision to quit on us early; and then use taxpayer dollars to fund a search process for a new, equally qualified, replacement for him; and to then not honor his retirement, but create a new ... position for him entitled superintendent’s consultant for special projects, a position that, by the way, no previous superintendent had.
This consultant position is paying him his current monthly salary of $21,248 (or $133 per hour) to work remotely from home. And then to add further mismanagement of taxpayer dollars, this board unanimously agrees to pay him, after his newly created consulting period ends on June 30, 2024, a severance package of six months’ worth of his regular salary totaling another $127,486?
Based upon these numbers and rationale, it is you, the Board of Trustees, that now needs to be under fiscal watch. How many resources and upgrades could have been purchased with $254,972? Better yet, how much of these resources could have been used to adequately compensate our new superintendent?
What doesn’t add up to the DFMA is why there is a major discrepancy in what you have allotted to pay the new superintendent, who is the first African American superintendent for this district. Why was the former superintendent, a Caucasian male, paid an annual salary of $254,972, while the new one, an African American, is paid only $195,000?
Why did the former white superintendent receive an 8% annuity contribution while the new one, who is Black, receives only a 5% contribution?
Why did you agree to pay the former white superintendent’s monthly health insurance premium, but not pay the same for the new Black superintendent?
If it’s not about race, then please let the DFMA and the taxpayers know what it Is about.
Why is it that there was a $86,540 pay difference between the former white superintendent and his chief operations officer, but only $26,568 between the new Black superintendent and the current COO? Why is it that the one who shoulders more weight on behalf of the district receives significantly less in pay in comparison to the former?
As I prepare to close, our Black and brown educated men and women understand that even though we have made several strides as it relates to racial equality, we still understand that we must work twice as hard as compared to our Caucasian counterparts to gain positions of leadership and authority.
Please understand that the DFMA, Black and brown citizens of this community and taxpayers are not going to stand by and allow this Board of Trustees to undermine the experience and expertise of African American leadership, nor mismanage funds that can be used to improve the educational quality of life for any child, especially our Black and brown children.
The Rev. AnThony Pelham, pastor at Faith, Hope & Victory Christian Church in Lancaster, is the leader of the Delegation for Minority Affairs.
