Complaints about potential hires for Oshkosh Area School District

OSHKOSH, Wis. (WBAY) - The Oshkosh School Board is expected to vote on the hiring of two administrators Wednesday night, which have drawn concerns from the public. Samuel Coleman is seeking to be the district’s new assistant superintendent and Anthony Miller, Jr., is applying to be the district’s first director of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Both candidates have been the focus of discussion on social media. In particular, Coleman, who is Black, is accused of sending racially inappropriate text messages to colleagues while working at the Shorewood School District back in 2022, as documented by a Milwaukee newspaper.

Action 2 News has decided not to air what Dr. Samuel Coleman said specifically, which some people are calling racist. However the controversy surrounding it could be a factor as the Oshkosh School Board votes on hiring him Wednesday night for the position of Assistant Superintendent of Instruction.

“It’s something that I investigated through my contacts in Shorewood along with my research to make sure that doesn’t continue to be a concern here in Oshkosh. So, I’m confident moving forward Dr. Coleman is going to be a great asset to the Oshkosh Area School District,” said Dr. Bryan Davis, the Superintendent of the Oshkosh Area School District.

Coleman at the time of the incident told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “My comments that were made from a place of anger, pain and frustration were not about all White people. My comments were solely made about specific individuals whose racist actions provoked anger, pain and frustration.”

Still, some school board members are asking that the matter be vetted more.

In a statement, Kelly DeWitt said, “Candidates we hire for leadership positions reflect our values as a school community, and it’s my hope that these concerns about this appointment are listened to and appropriately addressed by the administration.”

Also on the agenda is the hiring of Anthony Miller, Jr. as Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

“He does not have a teaching license and an administrator license, so he will not be supervising principals as we had originally looked at for in this type of position,” said Dr. Davis. “But sometimes that happens when we’re looking for and getting candidates that we want.”

The meeting starts at 6 p.m. and the public will have a chance to speak.

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