Protest held in Roosevelt over reinstatement of teacher accused of displaying racist symbols inside classroom

The teacher in question had tenure so her case went before an impartial hearing officer assigned by New York state.

News 12 Staff

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Oct 26, 2022, 2:42 AM

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Updated 787 days ago

Residents in Roosevelt are outraged over a decision to reinstate a teacher who is accused of displaying racist symbols inside a classroom.

The teacher in question had tenure so her case went before an impartial hearing officer assigned by New York state.

The officer ruled the teacher should be back on the job, but some in the Roosevelt Union Free School District believe they should fight the decision.

The tenured teacher allegedly displayed a noose inside a classroom as part of a collage in 2019 at Roosevelt Middle School.

The nooses were labeled "back to school necklaces" and a total of three teachers were involved.

The two who did not have tenure were fired.

Pastor Arthur Mackey, of Mt. Sanai Baptist Church, stood alongside Roosevelt school board member Wilhelmina Funderburke to ask the current school board to appeal the hearing officer's decision and keep the tenured teacher out of the classroom.

"It is unacceptable for her to come back to any school - not just Roosevelt - but not school needs this teacher in their school," Mackey says

Funderburke was also at the protest saying they are not going to tolerate it.

"These are our children - we love them and we're going to protect them and we're going to protect them from this type of racism," Funderburke says.

News 12 reached out to the New York State Education Department for comment.

They told News 12 they do not get involved in the hearings and the decision is made by the independent arbitrator.

Statement from the Roosevelt Union Free School District Board of Education

"We understand that there are questions the community has regarding the recent reinstatement of one of our employees who was involved with a situation that previously occurred in our district. This is a personnel issue and consequently we cannot discuss the particulars of this matter as they relate to this incident required by law. However, it is important to let the community know that the district was required to reinstate this employee as a result of a decision of the arbitrator who was appointed by the New York State Education Department. The reinstatement was not a decision that was voted on by this board of education, but rather, as I noted, mandated by a legal ruling."