Outcry as Marin school board ends support services for Black students
The Brief
Tamalpais District Board trustees voted 3-2 to end contracts for consultants supporting Black students, despite emotional pleas from parents, students, and staff.
Board cited cost and staffing overlap, while supporters argued services have been crucial in addressing racism and building trust.
LARKSPUR, Calif. - Emotions ran high on Tuesday night as the Tamalpais Union High School District Board voted to discontinue contracts for two consultants who provided support services for Black students at Tamalpais High School.
Parents, students, and teachers packed the room, urging trustees to extend contracts for Tenisha Tate and Paul Austin. The two were brought in to provide mentorship and academic and athletic support following a series of racist incidents at Tamalpais High School, including slurs and graffiti.
The services were offered in a designated safe space on campus known as The Hub.
"The Hub is more about academics," said London Seymour, a student at Tamalpais High. "It's also a place where we are building a community and finding mentorship and having open conversations about challenges students may face."
Despite overwhelming support from those in attendance, the board voted 3-2 twice to end the contracts, citing budget constraints and redundancy with existing staff roles.
"The Hub is working, Tenisha and Paul are working. I've watched it, I can tell you anecdotes: two kids get in a fight, they're back in class in an hour rather than getting suspended and sent home," said Tamalpais High teacher Preston Picus.
"I have students who would have failed except for their interventions. They support my students every day in ways that I can't and the administration can't," added another teacher during public comment.
The vote followed heated public comment, audience outbursts, and a brief recess called by the board.
"I'm going to say we inappropriately approved those consultant contracts, because the services that were provided are not specialized services," said Board President Cynthia Roenisch, who voted against renewing the contracts. "They are services that are included in the job description of the assistant principals, of the deans, of teachers, of counselors."
Other trustees discussed how much money the program costs.
"I know nobody likes to hear this, but it's $250,000 and we have multiple schools and we have financial constraints," said Trustee Jennifer Holden.
The board's decision left some parents in tears, including Christine DeBerry, whose son is biracial and received services at The Hub.
"His freshman year was marred by racist incidents and he would have to come home and figure out how he was going to go back the next day," DeBerry said.
"This issue has existed at that school for decades and no on-campus people have been able to solve it, because they don't have the trust and legitimacy that these consultants had," she added.
Before the meeting at a rally outside, parents presented a Change.org petition with nearly 800 signatures in support of continuing the services. Some community members vowed to vote Roenisch out when her term ends.
Roenisch said she hopes district and school leaders will work over the summer to develop a new structure that allows The Hub to remain open and continue supporting students.
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