High School Responds To 'Public Controversy' Over Black Layoffs

PETALUMA, CA — Both protesters and counter-protesters rallied Sunday afternoon outside Saint Vincent de Paul Catholic Church on Liberty Street in a demonstration brought on by the recent layoff of two Black women from the high school affiliated with the church.

It is alleged in an open letter signed by 215 St. Vincent de Paul High School alumni, parents and community members that the administration of Saint Vincent de Paul High School —SVHS — engaged in what they believe to be "retaliatory racial discrimination against Black faculty."

Joanna Paun, who worked as dean of Counseling at the school and was the previous director of the Teens Against Discrimination Club, and Kinyatta Reynolds, the school's Physical Education — PE — teacher, were dismissed one week after trying to engage Principal Patrick Daly, Father William Donahue, and the SVHS Board in a dialogue about institutional racism at the school and their proposed solutions, the letter states.

"Though Principal Daly offered no response to the issues of racism that they raised, his prompt elimination of their positions, and his decision to appear at the White House soon after, served as a clear response, and spoke plainly that racism can occur with impunity at Saint Vincent de Paul on Daly’s watch," the letter states. [Read the full letter here.]

While an attorney for both Reynolds and Paun confirmed the women have filed claims against the school alleging race discrimination, harassment and retaliation, the school's principal denied race was involved in the school's decision to lay off four staff members.

"Race played no part in the layoff of four individuals, at all," SVHS Principal Patrick Daly told reporters. "... It was a necessary move to reduce our administration."

"Before I got there we did not have a Black student on our campus," Daly said. "And this Freshman class we have roughly 11 percent of our students that were Black African American and uh so we have a real focus on that."

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In a letter dated Saturday and posted to the school website, Daly and Rev. William Donahue, pastor and president, delve further, saying a "public controversy has arisen following the restructuring of our school staff in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a visit to the White House by SVHS representatives, including Principal Daly, a faculty member (who is a physician), a current student and a parent."

"From its inception, this current controversy has been based on misinformation, false statements and hearsay," Daly and Donahue state in the letter.

Regarding a visit to The White House, Daly and Donahue said in the letter, "There was no intention to align the school or any of its staff or students with any national political figure or party."

"Our school representatives were invited to a symposium of national experts as a result of their outstanding efforts to research and resolve problems in opening schools during the current pandemic," the letter reads. "Simply stated, they went to Washington not to pay court to any person, but to share with the country their knowledge and experience."

Daly and Donahue went on to state that "the staff positions the protesters are focusing on were eliminated out of budgetary necessity, and were not filled by other people."

"We recognize the contributions of the affected staff and thank them for their service to our school and students," the school's principal and its president state in the letter. "These difficult decisions were not made in a vacuum nor impulsively in reaction to any event. These decisions emerged over the span of several months with input from confidential sources, including human resource advisors, finance advisors, key members of the Board of Regents and legal counsel. This was the product of weeks of careful thought and consultation, based on nothing other than declining revenues, rising costs – and then only as a last resort."

The PE position was removed for the 2020-21 school year because there will be no PE for the foreseeable future because of the pandemic, the letter reads. The remaining functions were assumed by other existing staff, not new hires, based on academic degrees and skill sets, according to the letter.

Regarding the counseling position, the school says in the letter that "a third-party therapeutic counseling organization was engaged to provide mental health counseling services to SVHS students in 2019 and remains under contract for the 2020-2021 school year, though the need for on-campus counseling is reduced because the campus is closed."

The school said based on parent feedback, academic counseling services transitioned last year to a more "robust, student-focused model which pairs students with an experienced faculty member during each of their four years at SVHS."

"The four affected employees all of whom were hired by the current administration – were not singled out due to race or any other form of invidious discrimination," the letter reads.

"Please be assured that SVHS prohibits all forms of illegal discrimination, including racial discrimination," the letter reads. "Please further be assured that race had nothing to do with the difficult personnel decisions that had to be made to face the declining enrollment and COVID crisis. Personnel matters are by law, confidential, and cannot be discussed publicly."

Many alumni and others contend in their open letter that SVHS received a significant federal grant of at least $350,000 June 18 from the Paycheck Protection Program — PPP — so it was "ludicrous that SVHS fired all Black faculty under the guise of budget restructuring, while simultaneously accepting federally-insured money."

The letter signed by alumni goes on to state that "the notion that SVHS no longer has a mental health counselor, during this heightened time of anxiety is unacceptable."

"Furthermore, SVHS has, today and historically, undermined diversity and inclusion efforts on campus, including the elimination of the Teens Against Discrimination Club last year, and the enabling of an adverse environment for students and faculty of color," the letter signed by many alumni states.