NAACP to hold hearings in Coatesville next week

The Pennsylvania NAACP will hold hearings, starting next week, about how the Coatesville School District handled two former employees who exchanged racist text messages using school-issued cell phones.

The Coatesville School Board officially accepted the resignations of the two men on September 24 after a more than three-hour school board meeting full of residents calling for the board to step down. Many were upset the two were allowed to resign instead of being fired and some questioned whether the board didn’t move quickly enough.

Tonya Thames-Taylor is President of the Coatesville NAACP and a school board member. She says the meetings will give people as much time as they need to say their peace.

“This gives them a forum, it is voluntary, there are no time restrictions, people can come in and just share,” Thames-Taylor said.

Thames-Taylor says they are asking people to come to the meeting and explain how they were harmed by the incident, be it educationally, socially, emotionally or physically.

“Before we get to any legal actions we just want to see if there is a pattern and then from there we will move forward with any aspect that emerges, we’re not going in with any expectations, not expecting any outcomes,” she said.

Attorney Sam Stretton represents two of the district employees who say they have been mistreated since bringing the activities to light.  He says without removal of the district’s solicitor and acting superintendent, nothing will change in Coatesville.

The first meeting will be held on October 15 at the Second Baptist Church on Merchant Street in Coatesville beginning at 6:30 PM.