EDUCATION : Black Supt. Gets Boot in Boston
The Boston School Committee found itself in another racial controversy today after it voted to oust Laval Wilson, the system’s first black superintendent, in a move one supporter likened to a “lynching.”
In a stormy meeting Tuesday night, the School Committee, which fought court-imposed busing in the 1970s, voted 7 to 1 to negotiate to buy out the remainder of Wilson’s contract.
The committee’s four black members and one white committee member walked out of the meeting and refused to participate in the vote.
“There are certain members who cannot deal with a strong black man as the leader of the Boston public schools,” said John O’Bryant, a senior black committee member.
Several committee members who voted to buy out Wilson’s contract said their decision was based on the superintendent’s job performance and failure to communicate with various groups within the school system.
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