Clover Park board member censured after calling equity officers ‘race pimps’
The Clover Park school board voted to reprimand a board member Monday night after racist comments he made in an email became public.
In a 4-1 vote, board member Paul Wagemann was censured. A censure, according to the school district, is a formal and public condemnation of the board member. It does not impact Wagemann’s ability to vote.
The four board members said Wagemann’s statements in the emails and in other meetings contradict the board’s standards for board behavior.
“The school board has censured Director Paul Wagemann for showing support for and failure to denounce derogatory terms regarding district staff charged with implementation of equity and diversity in the District and engaging in conversations demonstrating a lack of commitment to the district’s equity policy,” the board said in a statement.
Wagemann did not respond to the accusations in the meeting, beyond requesting a public hearing. He told The News Tribune he stands by the email, and that it was intended for a citizen, not the general public.
He wants the school district to focus on the success of all students.
“Racism is approached from two sides: the way we look at it, to respect everyone, and the other side is you have people who they are race-baiters. They want to turn everything in a race discussion,” Wagemann told The News Tribune. “I wish i could guarantee outcomes for everyone but I can’t. Our primary goal as a district is for every child to succeed. We shouldn’t break them into groups or color.”
Wagemann was appointed to the board in 2009 after a vacancy and elected that year. His term ends in 2023.
On July 2, someone outside of the school district emailed Wagemann with the subject line “Race Pimps have always existed but now they are called Equity Officials,” according to emails obtained by The News Tribune. The email quotes Booker T. Washington:
”I am afraid that there is a certain class of race-problem solvers who don’t want the patient to get well, because as long as the disease holds out they have not only an easy means of making a living, but also an easy medium through which to make themselves prominent before the public.”
Wagemann responded: “I agree! Look at Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton slave masters who do not care about anyone other than themselves.”
Jackson and Sharpton are American civil rights activists.
Board members said they recently became aware of the email exchange when a member of the public forwarded the email to them.
“The truth is that it is wrong to call equity administrators ‘race pimps’ and refer to those who support equity as ‘slave masters,’ the board statement said.
In the public meeting before the vote, board member Alyssa Anderson Pearson said there have been other instances of prejudice.
“You said in front of district leaders, ‘In some black communities, it is okay to call women bitches.’ I have heard you say that cotton-picking hands numerous times during committee meetings,” Anderson Pearson said.
She also said Wagemann has been misogynistic against female board members, asking if they will bake cookies or who is watching the kids while they attend the meeting.
“I wish I would have publicly spoken out sooner, but I always wanted to believe the comments were unintentional and you could learn from their mistakes. Unfortunately, that was not the case,” she said.
Board member Anthony Veliz said the board has given Wagemann many “opportunities” to apologize, but never did.
“As a community leader, I don’t believe that he would be a good example,” Veliz said.
Board member Carole Jacobs told Wagemann taking the vote to censure a member was one of the saddest days as a board member over the last 22 years.
“Anybody else who was either a real politician, an educator, athlete, or entertainer would not be allowed to keep their job as somebody who had such bigoted, and racist comments,” she said.
President Marty Schafer asked Wagemann if he would apologize before the vote was cast, but did not make personal remarks.
“You’ve heard concerns about things that you’ve said that are hurtful to real people, even on your own board and across the district,” he said. “So once again, we’re giving you an opportunity. Are you sorry for any of the things you said that were hurtful?”
Wagemann asked again for a public hearing.
Public comments before the vote were divided. Many supported the board for its decision to pass equity policy and to censure Wagemann, while others stated that Wagemann has a right to his opinion and was elected to vote on behalf of constituents.
The conversation surrounding equity officers stemmed from the recent passage of an equity policy.
The board spent months crafting an equity policy that looks to create educational equity for all. The district surveyed families, with an emphasis on families of color, a district webpage said. The policy includes priorities like using curriculum to reflect culture and heritage of district students, hire diverse staff, and dismantle damaging ideas of colonization of Native Americans.
In September, the board passed the measure 4-1, with Wagemann dissenting. He told The News Tribune he voted against the measure because not enough community members responded to the survey. There were 83 responses. He also felt that there were no metrics to determine whether the policy had been successful.
“My fellow board members don’t ask the questions,” he said.
This story was originally published November 12, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
