Letter: Mike Morris Must Be Placed On Administrative Leave Until The Charges Against Him Are Fully Investigated

The following letter was sent to the Regional School Committee on July 13, 2023.

I am writing to ask that you schedule an emergency RSC meeting, with the sole purpose of holding a vote to place Mike Morris on administrative leave immediately. 

I am beside myself. 

That Morris is able to waltz back into work is egregious. 

The double standard in treatment for Morris and Cunningham is egregious and blatantly racist. 

That the School Committee has continued to ignore at best and disparage at worst the APEA vote of no confidence in both district leaders is egregious. 

The ignoring, belittling, and silencing of voices calling for Morris to be held accountable is egregious. 

The School Committee’s stalling on this issue is egregious. 

Morris returning to work makes every word of every statement you have all put forward lose all meaning. 

The mom whose child was hospitalized read today’s announcement and was shaking. 

Please pause and read that again. She was SHAKING. 

I have received calls from ARPS staff speaking to their attempts to tell Morris that trans children were being treated abusively. He responded with sympathetic words and took no action. 

What message does this send to the children, families, staff, and teachers who have experienced abuse, bullying, and toxicity in our schools, all of which Morris knew about, and all of which are currently, actively under investigation? 

Community members have been asking the school committee to place Morris on administrative leave for more than two months. We have been asking how it could be permissible for him to return while still being investigated. 

Now, what we feared would happen is happening. 

Where is the accountability? 

Why is Doreen Cunningham, a Black woman, on leave, while Morris, a White, cishet man, allowed to return to business as usual, when 80% of the APEA voted for both of them to be fired? 

The School Committee has failed our community. 

There is no going back to remedy what is already done. But the actions you take now still matter. 

Please schedule an emergency meeting of the RSC and speak up. 

Anyone not actively calling for Morris to be held accountable is complicit in the harm of LGBTQIA+ kids. It is that simple. 

As a parent, a human, and a writer, I typically call for seeing the nuance in all things. This is an instance where things are not actually all that nuanced. This is a situation where “right” and “wrong” are very, very clear. 

Be on the right side of this crisis and TAKE ACTION NOW. Enough is enough. 

Jena Schwartz

Jena Schwartz is a writing coach, editor, and author of three books. Her poetry and essays have been widely published, and she has served as Poet in Residence at the Jewish Community of Amherst.