“Superintendent shall promptly notify the Board of issues which could result in potential financial or reputational exposure to the district.” Section 2, Line 12 of Superintendent Gyimah Whitaker’s contract with City Schools of Decatur.
Last month CSD’s board opened an “independent investigation” into Superintendent Gyimah Whitaker after she was publicly revealed to have engaged her husband’s media company to produce CSD’s podcasts.
Her husband, Jason Whitaker, is a professional right-wing podcaster whose shtick includes intensely vulgar hate speech. For example, he says trans people are “phony, false and fake” and that all Muslims are “low-IQ.”
Over the past year or so Superintendent Whitaker brought most of CSD’s board and several staff members to her husband’s podcast studio to record. By connecting CSD leadership, staff and communications products to a professional bigot, Dr. Whitaker demonstrated profound disrespect for the values of our community, and imho violated Section 2, Line 12 of her contract.
Superintendent Whitaker should immediately be placed on administrative leave pending the completion of the investigation. There’s clear and recent precedent for doing so. When CSD’s board decided to investigate Superintendent David Dude in 2021 for violating terms of his contract, he was suspended with pay during the investigation.
The school board hasn’t explained why Dr. Whitaker is being treated differently than Dude. Then again, they don’t explain much. The tens of thousands of dollars CSD spends on communications each month apparently doesn’t include a line item labeled “candor.”
This is more than bad communication though. By not placing Whitaker on leave during the investigation, the board is pouring fuel onto a reputational fire of its own making. The board’s job is to oversee the administration of Decatur schools on behalf of the public. But for several months, three board members (Carmen Sulton, Hans Utz, and James Herndon) have been acting like their job is to represent the superintendent and protect her from the consequences of her own actions.
Dr. Whitaker has insisted that her husband’s political media activities are separate from CSD’s work. That claim was hollow from the start. After all, in a world where every third adult is a podcaster, she chose the one who, on his podcast in March, said Muslims rape goats.
To everyone who chose to give Dr. Whitaker the benefit of the doubt that her work was distinct from her husband’s, Jason Whitaker has raised repeatedly a metaphorical middle finger. Since the investigation was announced he has openly and repeatedly used his podcast and social media platforms to urge his colleagues and supporters to advocate to the board and criticize the school district on his wife’s behalf.
Jason Whitaker’s friends and fans have responded by lobbing crude online attacks at the board. The only two members they attack by name though are Lorraine Irier and Tracey Anderson — the two who oppose Dr. Whitaker’s unpopular pet $23–28 million ECLC/daycare project.
An organic statewide groundswell against the Decatur school board is, I suppose, theoretically possible. But this groundswell consists entirely of Jason Whitaker’s podcast friends, all of whom have an unusually nuanced grasp of Decatur school board politics. They just happen to instinctively know which two members of the board to attack by name, and which three to spare from their jihad. Did I say jihad? Sorry, Jason. I meant crusade. Forgive me.
I don’t actually know if Dr. Whitaker is privately coordinating with her husband to put public pressure on the board and influence its investigation. Also, I don’t actually care anymore because I’ve seen how she’s acted on the job and in public.
Dr. Whitaker and her board allies permitted out-of-town speakers to address Decatur’s June school board meeting in apparent violation of the board’s rules.
School board policy limits public comments at meetings to “residents of the School District, representatives of businesses or organizations located in the District, parents or guardians of students attending the schools of the District, or school system employees.” Board policy also forbids public comments on personnel matters.
Watch the meeting video. Whitaker and the board majority allowed several people who don’t live in Decatur to express support for Whitaker and her, um, personnel matter. At the same meeting, Whitaker and the board majority also (correctly) cut off a speech from a Decatur parent because she attempted to share a personnel-related complaint about an employee at Talley.
In other words, the Board and Superintendent correctly applied the rule to a Decatur resident, then incorrectly ignored the rule for non-Decatur residents voicing support for Superintendent Whitaker. Another coincidence perhaps.
Jason Whitaker wasn’t at the June meeting, but afterward he publicly thanked his friends and fans for showing up to support his wife. While she’s claiming she works independently of her husband, her husband is publicly thanking his friends for showing up at her office.
Dr. Whitaker’s contract obligates her to notify the board of issues that could create reputational exposure for the district. We’re past that now. Instead, she has become the exposure.
The board cannot credibly investigate her actions while she remains on the job. Superintendent Whitaker needs to be suspended until the investigation of her actions is complete.
Update: City Schools of Decatur’s board met today (June 16) and again chose not to place Superintendent Whitaker on leave. The next meeting is August 11.
