Outspoken Burlington school board chair Mark Porter has officially stepped down from the leadership role but will remain on the board until his term is up in April.
Porter made his decision partly in response to criticism over his late-night remarks about alleged racial bias and potential conflicts of interest at a recent school board meeting, he told Seven Days on Monday.
“I’m obviously not impartial, which is really something that the board chair has to be, because you have to represent 11 other people,” Porter said. He added: “I just felt it best to step back and be fair and let everybody else have their say also.” But Porter said he will continue to express his opinions. “I don’t want to be quiet anymore,” he said.
Porter appeared frustrated as he delivered a strongly worded monologue about various issues at the end of a January 23 school board meeting.
He blasted fellow board member Jeff Wick for allegedly questioning diversity hiring goals in a way that showed racial bias during a private conversation the two of them had last year. Wick strongly denied the allegation and said the remarks were slanderous payback for other differences between the two men.
Porter also pointed to school board candidates who are current and former members of the Vermont-NEA teachers union and suggested they could have conflicts of interest.
Afterward, the board released a statement saying it was not in a position to adjudicate remarks made in a private conversation.
The board also sought legal advice about whether Porter’s remarks were in some way out of bounds. The board is scheduled to discuss the legal opinion during an executive session Tuesday evening. Superintendent Yaw Obeng would not release the opinion Monday. Seven Days filed a public records request for the document.
Porter said he will continue to attend meetings until his term is up. He said he emailed fellow board members on February 3, effectively resigning as chair and delegating his authority to vice chair Stephanie Seguino.
“I want to take this opportunity to affirm to our larger community our core principles to which we as a board are committed,” Seguino said in a statement released Saturday. “These include a belief in the importance of civility, fairness, integrity and self-reflection about our own biases.”
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Well, this is really sad. I’d like to think public officials can speak out candidly when they’re troubled by questionable behavior. This country’s attitude towards whistleblowers is inexplicable to me. So much corruption and disgusting behavior goes on because almost everybody is complicit in saying nothing. Doing nothing. Except they all are doing something: covering up for thieves, racists, and fools.
On behalf of our community I’d like to thank Mark Porter for his service and dedication. Whistleblowers are heroes, it’s a lot easier to stay quiet. Especially where public trust and money is involved, we need to protect and encourage speaking out. It may not always be true, but the atmosphere of fear and retribution for truth telling is toxic and unhealthy for our government and our democracy.
I can only echo what Penelope has said so well. Thank you Mark, for all you did and tried to do in a community that is in my opinion, overly PC and therefore, overly reactive when it comes to any dissent or hint of discord from the narrative.
Its disturbing that the previous three commentors find unsubstantiated slander used in vindictive manner is somehow represents our “values”
Personally I see it the other way around.
Porter was the one trying to silence the other board member by creating an atmosphere of fear and retribution- which is evidence by his behavior that resulted in him stepping down
all because the other board member had the courage to question what have become obviously biased “diversity hiring goals”
a not so veiled way of saying- hire minorities over white people or there will be trouble…
considering this is a majority white state, and the goal is inherently racist, I would say the board member was correct to question such an agenda
Porter is yet another white male trying to play the race card in a manner that slanders other white males yet excludes himself from the accusations of racism being made. His motivations was purely political in nature- He was hoping to use the current atmosphere of “diversity” to further his career and he was willing to throw other people under the bus in order to do it
We dont need such people in our school systems
good riddence I say
Penelope, yes, those are important values to stand up for. There is no one against people speaking out candidly. That is the power of the First Amendment. Everyone is against corruption and disgusting behavior. At the same time, without a video of the referenced conversation, it is difficult for anyone to judge what really was said.
What we know is Mark Porter is a taxpayer who has provided leadership to try and protect taxpayers given an awful school funding regime created by Brigham and Act 60. When Porter arrived, there was a lot to cleanup from deficits of the years before.
What we also know is Jeff Wick has his own children currently enrolled in Burlington schools; volunteers in the schools; (and also is taxpayer).
They each have skin in the game, in different ways. They each bring valuable perspectives. Ad hominem attacks (that are not backed up with hard evidence) is not usually display of great leadership. No idea if this was just temporary frustration or emblematic of Porter’s style.
Porter certainly deserves gratitude for his service and dedication (as do other school board members). He has been willing to take the time to try to steer things as he believes best serves the district.
It turns out not all community members agree with Porter’s direction. Based on reports of the last school board meeting and fact that there are many new school board candidates (including one directly challenging in Porter’s district), Mr. Porter appears frustrated that not everyone agrees with him.
What is not entirely clear is whether he is a whistle blower vs. simply frustrated that some taxpayers, parents and voters have disagreed with some of the budget & hiring & firing decisions during his & Yaw Obeng’s tenure. Would want to see more evidence.
Isn’t this the brother of Heather Wick (AKA Heather Manning AKA Heather Yackovetsky), the Burlington M.D. who used ‘bipolar’ as an excuse for racist remarks made online? The same Heather Wick who used bipolar as an excuse for two felonies in 2009? The same Heather Wick who bullied patients (including myself)? The same Heather Wick who testified against her elderly husband in 2016? How bad was her ‘bipolar then?
Look at the one-sided article published about Heather Wick in Seven Days. It’s sad that this family’s means of ‘support’ is to protect Heather from taking RESPONSIBILITY.