A controversial San Jose school official has been rebuked and asked to resign, but he won’t step down.
The board of the Franklin-McKinley School District on Tuesday voted 4-1 to censure Trustee Marc Cooper and requested his resignation for making remarks it considered hateful toward Muslims. Cooper cast the lone no vote. The decision was based on what trustees deemed to be discriminatory behavior by Cooper at a Sept. 8 board meeting. Board policies quoted in the resolution upheld protecting the rights of every student from hate-motivated, discriminatory behavior. Cooper’s conduct and comments violated these policies, according to the resolution.
At the Sept. 8 meeting, Cooper discussed 9/11 and referred to the perpetrators as “cowardly, radical Muslims.” The board rebuked his behavior at a Sept. 22 meeting, where trustees supported an open letter to the community reaffirming their commitment to diversity and non-discrimination. But Trustee Rudy Rodriguez said he brought forward the resolution to censure Cooper because he didn’t feel the board’s community letter went far enough.
“I introduced the resolution with the demand that he resign and four board members voted in favor of the resolution,” Rodriguez told San José Spotlight. “There is not much more we can do because he is elected. All we can do is make sure the community is aware of his hateful words and actions.”
The board wants to strengthen its policies by implementing consequences for such behavior, including removal from committees and liaison assignments. They asked staff to study the request and return with a solution.
Cooper disagreed with the board actions and defended himself.
“I have nothing against anybody: Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians,” Cooper told San José Spotlight. “I’m not going to resign. People in our republic form of government elected me to represent them. If they don’t want me, they’ll vote me out.”
He said the board needs to work in a more cohesive manner.
“We don’t need to be divisive. We don’t need to point fingers,” he said.
The school district received letters from the NAACP San Jose/Silicon Valley and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) calling for Cooper’s resignation.
“I’ll be asking for his resignation,” Maimona Afzal Berta, a trustee with the Santa Clara County Board of Education, speaking for herself, told San José Spotlight. “I think that’s appropriate, given everything that’s transpired.”
She said she was motivated to join the Franklin-McKinley School District board in 2018 after her classroom was vandalized with hateful words on 9/11 associating her with terrorism.
“Trustee Cooper, as an educator, you should understand the dangers of stereotypes, the harm of prejudice and the responsibility you have to model respect and critical thinking for our children,” she said at Tuesday’s meeting. “As an elected official, you have even greater obligation to uphold those values. The most responsible thing you could do is not only apologize, but to resign. Resign immediately.”
Zahra Billoo, executive director of CAIR, said when discrimination comes from someone entrusted with overseeing children’s education it sends a particularly harmful message.
“American-Muslim children and all children deserve schools where their faith is respected, their rights are protected and their belonging is never in question,” Billoo said at the meeting.
NAACP San Jose/Silicon Valley leaders also called on Cooper to resign.
“Two formal rebukes have not changed Mr. Cooper’s conduct,” a letter from the organization reads. “Islamophobia … has no place in a public school district. A trustee who cannot represent all of the district’s children without targeting some of them should step aside.”
But Cooper wasn’t without his supporters.
Dawn Suiter refuted Cooper’s censure and said his comments were specific to the terrorists who carried out the attacks on 9/11.
“How can he be married to an ex-Muslim if he’s supposedly Islamophobic?” she said at the meeting. “Look at the diversity on this board. If you kick him off, there will be no representation of the white students.”
Others said the board distorted what they considered to be Cooper’s patriotic comments and said repeatedly censuring him was mean-spirited.
Brandi Madison said Cooper’s words were misconstrued.
“I know him not to be anti-Muslim, and I think in your heart you do know that, too,” she said at the meeting.
Board President Hong Ha Hoang said trustees must serve every student and family regardless of their background, identity and religious beliefs.
“While the decision to resign ultimately rests with Trustee Cooper, the board has made its position clear,” she told San José Spotlight. “My focus is on ensuring that we follow through on the corrective actions outlined in the resolution. This includes reviewing our policies, exploring opportunities for education and training and continuing to engage with community organizations to ensure that all students and families feel safe, respected and included.”
Contact Lorraine Gabbert at [email protected].
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