Green Bay School Board says it won’t bring Claude Tiller back

GREEN BAY — The Green Bay School Board says it will not bring back former Superintendent Claude Tiller as the district’s leader, despite him being open to the conversation.

“The window to have this conversation has closed and there are no further comments to make,” the board said in a statement Wednesday evening. “We are now moving forward with discussing the process for identifying and selecting the district’s next superintendent.”

Tiller resigned Feb. 17 amid an investigation into comments he made on an Atlanta radio show earlier in February. As part of Tiller’s settlement agreement with the board, he had until the end of the day Sunday to rescind his resignation and return to the district.

He did not rescind his resignation, but Tiller has said he is open to the conversation of returning. A representative for Tiller told the Press-Gazette on Saturday he is open to the conversation and reiterated that sentiment on Tuesday.

Tiller had no idea where the board stood on his possible return, his representative said. He has not spoken with the board since he was placed on administrative leave Feb. 13. The only board member Tiller has spoken with is Laura Laitinen-Warren when she informed him of her resignation, according to Tiller’s representative.

Laitinen-Warren unexpectedly resigned Saturday in the middle of her term, leaving a vacant seat on the board.

On Tuesday, Tiller released a statement saying he’s received an overwhelming number of heartwarming messages through email, text, phone calls and social media.

“The incredible outpouring of support and love has caused me deep reflection,” he wrote. “I have come to realize that the sacred trust the Green Bay community has placed in me has shown how this is much bigger than myself.  Although out of my control, I want to provide an answer to the pressing question so many continue to ask, by publicly expressing my willingness to engage in conversations regarding the possibility of my return.”

School Board member Lynn Gerlach told the Press-Gazette on Wednesday, before the board’s statement was released, that she would participate in conversations about extending an offer to bring Tiller back but would not initiate those conversations.

“I think that window of opportunity is behind us, and we need to move on,” Gerlach said.

All other board members have yet to respond to the Press-Gazette’s emails, phone calls and text messages about where they stand on bringing Tiller back.

There may still be a place for Claude Tiller in Green Bay: in higher education.

While also balancing his superintendent duties, Tiller taught an education course once a week at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, starting this spring semester.

“What was attractive for us is Dr. Tiller brings a skill set that is really hard to tap into,” said Tim Kaufman, the education chairman at the university. “He was an urban educator with a wealth of experience both at the local and state level in his state of Michigan. Obviously, he had excellent work with a very diverse population.”

After Tiller resigned Feb. 17, he relocated back to Michigan and informed UWGB he wouldn’t be teaching any longer since it’s an in-person course.

Kaufman said the university is disappointed Tiller left but would be open to him teaching at UWGB in the future, if he returned to Green Bay.

Tiller, who has a doctorate in education, was the district’s first superintendent of color in its over 150-year history. He resigned after only seven months in the position. From the date he was put on administrative leave to the day of his resignation was only four days.

Since his resignation, hundreds of community members have rallied in support of Tiller to return as superintendent. Over 100 community members gathered Saturday to support Tiller, and Monday’s board meeting had a similar showing of community support.

Source: Green Bay School Board says it won’t bring Claude Tiller back