Ron Cheatham, supporters appeal to school board for his reinstatement
Mar. 26—LOCKPORT — Ron Cheatham found himself out of a job on Feb. 15, the day the Lockport school board terminated his employment as a conflict resolution coach at Aaron Mossell Junior High School.
Cheatham said that he was never given the opportunity to present his side of the story about what happened on Feb. 6, when he confronted a district staff member and athletic coach about disparaging remarks aimed at Cheatham's son. It was that confrontation that got Cheatham fired.
Cheatham decided to address the school board directly — and ask for reinstatement — during the board's Wednesday meeting at the district office.
"Nobody was hurt or threatened," he said. "I never threatened the man, and in fact we always got along. I never threatened him. I just wanted some answers."
Cheatham further told the trustees that he feels as though people of color are often held to a different standard than their white counterparts by Lockport City School District.
"Can I be upset as a father when my son was being bullied by a teacher?" he asked.
One of the trustees is Cheatham's wife, Renee Cheatham, who was absent from the Feb. 15 board meeting during which a vote was held on terminating Ron Cheatham's contract. She wasn't informed beforehand that a motion would be on the table to fire her husband, either. The reason for her absence from the meeting was, it was Senior Night at Lockport High School and the Cheathams were there cheering on their son.
The audience for the board's business meeting was bigger than usual as Cheatham supporters dropped in and waited their turn to address the board after adjournment. Nine people signed up for three minutes of speaking time apiece, and used most or all of it, to express their dismay with Cheatham's dismissal.
Jill Caruso asked for a "show of hands" of Distinguished Lockport alumni, an honor that included placement of the recipient's picture on a wall at Lockport High School.
"It's quite a group of people. It's a very small percentage since Lockport High School started in 1954, I believe," Caruso said. "Very small percentage that make that wall. You've got pilots. You got attorneys. You got surgeons. ... We got an astronaut! and you got Ron Cheatham."
The audience broke into applause.
Monica Roland, a retired teacher, read from a letter she'd written for Cheatham when he applied for the conflict resolution coaching post.
"During Mr. Cheatham's time as a peer mediator, I came to rely on him almost every day for his support and exceptional ability to deescalate conflict," Roland said. "Whenever students were upset, unruly or in crisis, Mr. Cheatham would help them deal with their anger or frustration, and mine."
The Cheathams' son, Zion, read from a statement he'd prepared for the meeting: "I always try to the right thing so I don't get in trouble. I always look up to my father as a mentor, for guidance, protection and for support and love. He advocated for me as my father, because I was a victim of character assassination. Another student was told by a coach that I was not a person to be hanging around with and that I bring others down. Now he's looked on to be a bad person for being a father. I say thank you to my dad for standing up for me and for being a father."
The crowd again broke into applause.
Renee Cheatham acknowledged all the statements of support, and said her greatest concern is it's the students who will suffer over her husband's dismissal.
"I want to thank everyone who spoke tonight and I will take those (comments) to heart," she said. "Because we're up here for the students. That's what we're here for and I'm not going to sit on the board and not advocate for students."
On Thursday, district Superintendent Mathis Calvin was asked by this reporter whether the district will consider reinstating Cheatham.
"I, along with the Board of Education, are considering what we heard, but as for plans or actions going forward, I cannot and should not comment," Calvin said, since Cheatham's employment is a personnel matter and a contractual matter.
School Board president Leslie Tobin also declined to answer the question.
