Roosevelt teacher reinstated after suspension over noose images

A teacher suspended in 2019 after a photo collage depicting nooses was displayed inside a Roosevelt Middle School classroom has been reinstated, the Roosevelt school board announced at its Tuesday meeting.

The reinstatement was based on the ruling of an arbitrator appointed by the New York State Department of Education to rule in the teacher’s disciplinary hearing, Trustee Charlena Croutch said, reading a statement from the board. The teacher was not mentioned by name.

"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," the statement said. "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 … mandated by a legal ruling."

The announcement came following remarks to the board by community member Wilhelmena Funderburke, one of a handful of district residents who protested outside before the meeting, chanting “our children deserve better.”

Pastor Arthur L. Mackey Jr. of Mount Sinai Baptist Church Cathedral, who led Tuesday’s protest, said the teacher’s license should have been revoked. He expressed disappointment that residents in the 100% minority school district had not been formally notified by the district of the reinstatement at the time of the decision.

Inside the Roosevelt High School auditorium, Funderburke and others called for the district to appeal the arbiter’s ruling. Anthony Fasano, of Guercio and Guercio in Farmingdale, a law firm representing the district, told residents the 10-day period to appeal the decision “has elapsed.”

“We don’t deserve that,” said resident Seretta McKnight. “Our children don’t deserve that.”

Mackey said that while the disciplinary procedure for a teacher requires due process, he felt “the community was not given its due process.”

“We were spit in the face and disrespected,” he said.

New York State Assemb. Taylor Darling (D-Hempstead), who was in attendance at the meeting to discuss a different matter, told Newsday she plans to reach out to state Attorney General Letitia James about the reinstatement.

“Heavy things were brought up,” Darling said of the community reaction to the announcement. “We want to make sure people who are in front of our children have the best interest of our children in their heads.”

The collage showed two nooses, labeled as “back to school necklaces,” near the bottom of the display, surrounded by the words “Ha” and “#YES.” It also included pictures of middle school teachers and students, and positive messages. It was not clear who created the collage, how or when it came to be in the classroom, or whether students had seen it during school hours.

District administrators first became aware of the collage in February 2019 after a teacher reported it, Newsday previously reported. The district immediately suspended three middle school teachers, firing two of them a month later as the other remained suspended. The names of the teachers, or the reason for termination, were not publicly disclosed.

More than 150 residents attended a special meeting of the Board of Education in the week following the discovery of the collage. Fewer than 10 residents attended Tuesday’s meeting.

Mackey said the issue will be discussed again at a meeting of the Roosevelt Chamber of Commerce Thursday.

“We’re going to fight this every step of the way,” he said.