Green Bay superintendent put on paid leave after comments caught on live mic

The Green Bay Area Public School District superintendent has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation of comments he made on a radio show last week, the district board announced Tuesday.

Superintendent Claude Tiller was visiting Atlanta to recruit teachers from local colleges when he appeared on a local radio show. 

He is said to have been caught on a live mic during commercial breaks disparaging a subordinate, teachers and area businesses. The comments were included in an online stream that has since been taken down. 

It is not clear why the video is no longer online. In a statement, attorney Geoffrey Lacy said the board did not request the broadcast be removed. Lacy said the board’s lawyers are working through the legal process required to release the video after multiple public records requests were filed.

At a district meeting Monday, former Green Bay school principal and board member Ed Dorff addressed the school board during public comments, describing what he saw in the video while it was still online. 

“He used the term ‘lily, lily white’ to describe Green Bay. He suggested that a major employer wanted to keep people down and that they gave parties for kids as a substitute for doing right by their workers,” Dorff said. “He called into question the ability of 92 percent of the teaching staff to really do their jobs effectively.”

Dorff also said that Tiller disparaged a specific individual who works for the district. 

“He referred to a subordinate as a wicked witch and a (b—–) spelled out; he spelled that out,” he said. “I’ve known and worked with that individual for 18 years, and they have bent over backwards to serve the best interest of all kids and our most ethnically and economically diverse schools.”

Dorff called on the board to release the video and take action. 

“Our students, staff and community deserve to be respected, trusted and treated with positive regard by district leadership. How you, the board, ultimately handle this matter will be a test of your character and your moral courage,” he said. 

Tiller did not attend the board meeting. He was hired to lead the district in July 2023. He previously worked as an assistant superintendent in Detroit. 

His employment contract with the district states that he can be terminated for cause, and that he “may be placed on paid leave pending investigation into possible misconduct which shall not be characterized as disciplinary.” 

In the statement released Tuesday afternoon, the school board said it placed Tiller on leave “as it works through the issues raised” in the interview.