School & District Management News in Brief

District Chief Is Targeted for Comment About Trump

By The Associated Press — February 14, 2017 1 min read
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Maine’s Republican Party is accusing a school superintendent of pushing a political agenda after he suggested an attack on several black students was the result of President Donald Trump’s stance on immigrants and minorities.

The Maine GOP said that Portland Superintendent Xavier Botana’s actions in the wake of the Jan. 27 attack were inappropriate, and it vowed to investigate him.

Police arrested 20-year-old Jamie Hoffman of Portland on charges stemming from the attack.

Botana, an immigrant from Cuba, issued a statement after the attack calling the incident a product of a “noxious environment” caused by the Republican president and his executive order calling for a temporary ban on entry to the United States by citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Botana also announced student rallies would be held promoting diversity, which the GOP said amounts to forcing students and teachers to use school time to engage in his “partisan agenda.”

A version of this article appeared in the February 15, 2017 edition of Education Week as District Chief Is Targeted for Comment About Trump

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