Credit Youtube / Screenshot
The Paducah Board of Education after about two hours of private deliberation in executive session directed Superintendent Donald Shively to take 40 days of unpaid leave for “additional training, education, and community involvement.”
This action follows weeks of community unrest and calls for Shively’s resignation by parents, community members, and the Paducah-McCracken County NAACP with the resurfacing of a photo of Shively in blackface.
The motion passed by the board directs Shively to take 40 days off between now and 2022, with 20 of those days off between now and the start of the 2021 school year. Board member James Hudson abstained from the vote, with all others voting in favor.
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Board Chairman Carl LeBuhn said the public commentary during the meeting was to allow for more time for people to express themselves about the photo, following group and individual meetings Shively had with students, parents and faculty. More than a dozen people spoke to the board including some who said they were members of the NAACP. The Paducah-McCracken County NAACP chapter previously called for Shively’s resignation, with community members staging a protest at Paducah Tilghman High School calling for his resignation.
Martha Emmons, co-owner of a local bike shop, asked the board how the board plans to repair broken student and community trust if Shively remains superintendent. She also asked what consequences other district staff could face in the future following this situation.
NAACP renews call for Shively resignation paducahsun.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from paducahsun.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The audio story of the interview with Donald Shively.
Shively said the blackface photo is from a Halloween party in 2002. He was then a teacher and assistant football coach at Paducah Tilghman High School. The photo shows him in blackface, wearing a durag and gold chains, and wearing a Paducah Tilghman High School football t-shirt.
In a virtual interview with WKMS News on Wednesday, Shively talked about the continued calls for his resignation, the meetings he’s had since the photo’s resurfacing in October, and a potential “equity audit” of the district.
“Equity Audit”
Shively, in a Nov. 16 special board meeting, described the community meetings he had with parents, students, staff and faculty, and community leaders as “approaching well over 100 hours” of communication. In the Wednesday interview, he said he’s been using that feedback as guidance in an action plan he announced in October.
Local NAACP letter calls on Paducah Board of Education to take action against superintendent wpsdlocal6.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wpsdlocal6.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.