Teachers Aid Who Protected Students During The Black-Asian Conflict in S Philly Laid Off

South Philadelphia High aide who protected students from attack is laid off

Philly.com Article:

When South Philadelphia High School exploded in racial violence on Dec. 3, community liaison Violet Sutton-Lawson twice risked serious injury to protect Asian students who were being beaten by mobs.

She was disappointed that School District officials never sent her so much as a thank-you note.

This week, they sent her something else: A layoff notice.

"I put my life in danger," an angry, disbelieving Sutton-Lawson said in an interview. "They just laid me right off."

Sutton-Lawson, who worked with pregnant students and teenage mothers, was bumped from her job by seniority rules, among 61 support staffers who were laid off to save money and consolidate duties.

Eleven community-relations jobs were eliminated, said spokesperson Evelyn Sample-Oates. But some of those employees had seniority that allowed them to displace other workers. Sutton-Lawson's job at South Philadelphia High will be filled by one of those longer-tenured workers.

"It's unfortunate," Sample-Oates said. "Ms. Sutton-Lawson is welcome to apply for another position with the district."

Sutton-Lawson earned about $36,000 a year, barely a decimal point in the $3.2 billion school budget but crucial to a woman who doesn't own a car and lives in a tough area on Wharton Street.

The slashing of those 61 jobs from the payroll has been controversial because the move largely targeted employees who focus on student safety. Laid off with the 11 community-relations workers were 17 nonteaching assistants and 33 climate managers, who help keep schools calm.

It was not immediately clear how much the job cuts would save the district.

A teachers' union official criticized the layoffs.

"They laid off the lowest-paid people in the district at a time when you read about bonuses for top administrators and additional people in the superintendent's cabinet," said Arlene Kempin, a vice president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.

"Clearly," Kempin said of Sutton-Lawson, "this is a lady who has put the kids first. It doesn't seem like the district does."

Sutton-Lawson, 58, said she was saddened and surprised to lose her job, particularly given her actions on Dec. 3. That day, about 30 Asian students were attacked during a daylong series of assaults carried out by groups of mostly African American students.

Sutton-Lawson, who is African American, said that in her job she sees only children, not color.

The violence spawned national headlines, a request from the government of Vietnam that Vietnamese students be protected, and investigations by the School District, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, and the U.S. Justice Department.

The district responded by adding security staff and programming, and spending $685,000 to install 126 more security cameras.