An administrator at an elementary school in Greenwich, Connecticut, was suspended by the school district following the release of a Project Veritas video in which Assistant Principal Jeremy Boland admitted that he discriminates against Catholics and conservatives when hiring staff. Boland was placed on administrative leave on Wednesday amid outrage over the hidden-camera video.
District superintendent Toni Jones announced in a statement that Boland had been placed on administrative leave amid the rancor caused by the Project Veritas video.
“We intend to do a full investigation and until that time, we will not make any public statements. We ask that you respect the investigation process during this time,” Jones said. “We do not, however, support any opinions that promote discriminatory hiring practices based on race, religion, gender, or age in any way, and we want to remind our entire community that our curriculum policies and procedures are strictly enforced by our Board.”
Ageism may be another concern in the district’s hiring. In addition to discriminating against Catholics and conservatives, Boland also admitted on camera that on at least one occasion, he refused to interview applicants over the age of 30 for a teaching position.
The release of the video has sparked outrage both locally and nationally, with even Donald Trump Jr. weighing in on Twitter.
James O’Keefe of Project Veritas took a brief victory lap on Wednesday when it was announced that Boland was placed on administrative leave.
“For all of you who say, ‘nothing ever happens, no one’s held accountable, these videos don’t matter,’ out of the Greenwich Public Schools, superintendent of schools announcing that Jeremy Boland has just been placed on administrative leave,” O’Keefe said. “This comes 24 hours after our investigation showing Jeremy Boland saying he does not hire Catholics.”
O’Keefe promised another bombshell video to hit on Thursday.
Catholics, in particular, were outraged by Boland’s admissions in the Project Veritas video.
“The comments on Catholics and other indoctrination techniques by the Cos Cob Elementary School assistant principal are vile and they do a profound disservice to the many Catholic teachers in public schools both in Greenwich and across the state,” said Christopher Healy, the executive director of the Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference.
“It is our hope this is an isolated incident and not reflective of all dedicated teachers, administrators, and support staff who are trying to provide a quality education to our children,” Healy said.
At least one other Catholic promised action should Boland not be removed from his position.
“There is no role for an admitted anti-Catholic bigot in any school in the nation. What makes this case a legal slam dunk is that Boland is not simply spewing anti-Catholic vitriol, he is in charge of hiring and has explicitly said he would not hire Catholics,” said Catholic League President Bill Donohue. “That is illegal. If justice is not done by Dr. Jones, and other school officials, the Catholic League will pursue every legal challenge available.”
The video even drew the ire of Democrats, who Boland claimed in the video he was attempting to help.
“Discrimination of any kind has no place in Connecticut, especially in our public schools. This is not aligned with our Connecticut values. The Connecticut State Department of Education is aware of the incident, has been in contact with Greenwich Public School administrators, and is monitoring the situation’s progress,” said Connecticut Democratic Governor Ned Lamont.
A political rally hosted by Leora Levy, a long-shot Republican senatorial candidate looking to unseat longtime Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, took place at Cos Cob Elementary, the school where Boland works.
Levy vouched for O’Keefe at the impromptu rally: “I have always known James to be an honest man and in his many cases against him, he’s won every case against him.”
John-Paul Singh Deol, an attorney with the Dhillon Law Group, believes that Catholics who might have been interviewed by Boland in the past may be able to pursue litigation against the school system.
“Applicants who have not been hired by this school and others like it can and should sue. One way to determine whether they were the victim of these illegal hiring decisions is to look at who was actually hired. I am willing to bet there are few Catholics at this school and others in the area,” Singh Deol told National Review.
It’s an ugly story but, unfortunately, not a surprising one. Public schools in America have become indoctrination centers for young leftists. Boland’s admissions are just more evidence of that.
The story is reminiscent of another Project Veritas story, one in which California school teacher Gabriel Gipe was outed for, in his words, attempting to “turn them [students] into revolutionaries.” Gipe, however, was far less subtle than Boland, even putting an Antifa flag on the wall of his classroom.
As administrators such as Boland are more subtly deceptive, they are far more dangerous.
