GROSSE POINTE, Mich. – A teacher at Grosse Pointe Public Schools made a moving resignation speech in front of the district’s board of education during a public meeting Monday.
Related: Teachers in Grosse Pointe call in sick to protest relaxed COVID precautions
The Grosse Pointe Public Schools Board of Education met Monday to discuss new coronavirus protocols for district schools. The board voted 6-1 to adopt the protocols, which include adjusting the definition of “close contact” from 6 to 3 feet for contact tracing purposes, in addition to mandating a 10-day quarantine -- instead of 14 days -- for students in close contact with a student who tested positive for COVID-19.
More: Grosse Pointe school board passes resolution to revise quarantine rules
During the meeting, the board heard hours of statements from educators and the public. Grosse Pointe teacher Sean McCarroll delivered an impassioned resignation speech during that time, in which he accused the board of education of “disregarding” teachers and their input throughout the tumultuous coronavirus pandemic.
“You tell us after your meetings that you ‘so appreciate and respect us,’ well I cry bull***,” McCarroll said to the board Monday. “You don’t respect us. If you respected us, you’d listen to us. You don’t appreciate us. If you did, you wouldn’t make our jobs literally impossible to do. If you cared, you would pretend that you’re listening, at least.”
You can watch McCarroll’s entire 3-minute speech in the video above.
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The teacher claims that the board of education did not address his concerns relating to the return to in-person learning. McCarroll, who says he has 10 years of experience as an educator and two post-graduate degrees, criticized the board for allegedly listening to input from people outside of the classroom instead of the district teachers who are more “qualified.”
“We are not angry about the situation -- we can’t control COVID -- we’re angry at you,” McCarroll told the board. “Angry is a nice way of putting it. You’ve done more damage to our students, our district and our profession in the last 12 months than we’ve seen in the last decade.”
The teacher ended his speech by announcing that he had already submitted his resignation, asking the board, “How many teachers need to leave before you start to listen?”
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