Emotions were high at a school board meeting Wednesday in Concord after an act of racism at a middle school in the area.
The incident happened at Diablo View Middle School in Clayton when a student distributed cotton balls on campus as a joke to mock Black History Month.
Educators, community members, parents and guardians lined up to share how they felt in front of the Mt. Diablo Unified District board and superintendent.
“I’m embarrassed, like most in my community, we need to do better,” one parent said.
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It began when a student at the middle school brought cotton balls to distribute on campus, which district leaders found out days later.
Charlene Leathers has a granddaughter in the district.
“I was so angry. I was dumbfounded,” she said.
Leathers attended to ask the board and superintendent to do more.
The meeting comes one day after a town hall about the racist incident.
Superintendent Dr. Adam Clark and the board discussed their equity policy with the crowd, highlighting staff training, helping families and educators be heard, and understanding the disciplinary actions with students.
“We know that this is a very complex problem and these are young people and our ultimate goal here is to teach and to change inappropriate behaviors, to more behaviors that are more appropriate within a school setting,” said Clark.
With 37 vacancies, educators are also concerned about attracting and retaining staff ready to meet these needs. But it was clear that many there will hold the group to account when it comes to racism in the district.
“It’s with the board, it's with Dr. Clark that needs to act, act strongly, act fast,” said Leathers.
As for the kind of disciplinary actions that were taken, one student was suspended and other students were disciplined but we weren’t given details as to how.
