DETROIT - In a nearly unanimous decision, Northville School Board members voted to remove and censure their current president from his executive role, following controversial remarks he made online regarding COVID-19 and reopening schools.
The vote to remove Matthew Wilk as head of the board came after several days of community outcry against a post he shared on his Facebook that downplayed the severity of the pandemic. "Where are the videos of panic in the hospitals?" the posts asks. "They don't exist. This 'Pandemic' exists only in falsified statistics shouted on the news without context."
During a zoom call between the seven people on the board, six voted in favor of censuring and removing Wilk from his role, as well as removing him from all committee assignments. The seventh, Wilk himself, voted against the motion.
"What happened this weekend was such an inspiration and what I feel like is a tide-turning for our community," said Christina Johnson, a resident of Northville whose 4-year-old attends school in the district. "I've never been more proud of Northville."
While Tuesday's meeting lasted 5 hours and 23 minutes, the board vote came within the first 20 minutes of the meeting's start. Originally intended to be a meeting to discuss the Northville District's return to schooling in the fall, the added measure came with several speeches delivered by board members.
"The actions of Board President Wilk during this critical time has taken us away from the most important work that we're here to do," said one member.
"As many of our families and students conveyed last night, they are appalling, disgusting, and inappropriate for the position he holds," said another.
In addition to the original post that Wilk shared, he also replied to one critic's message who was asking about how the school board might feel about his thoughts, "How about we allow schools to reopen and Grandma can take the extreme precautions? She can wear a spacesuit when she "needs" to go out and shop, and the rest of the world can go about their lives, instead of shutting everything down because she might get sick."
In response to the growing controversy, a petition was set up calling for Wilk's removal. Several community members also made their thoughts known during a special meeting with the board Monday night.
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In response to his censure and removal, Wilk said "I probably should have followed my kids’ own rules to on the internet: everything you say will be twisted, misconstrued and taken out of context. It’s just the way things are in 2020. I’ve been the staunchest proponent of getting our kids back in school in the fall. Even the Governor thinks it can be done safely. I think the offense really ought to be directed at the ideas, not the messenger. I thank the hundreds of parents who sent me messages of support."
The Northville School Board's brush with controversy regarding COVID-19 served as a microcosm for how communities around the country are approaching the response to the virus, said Johnson, who spoke during the public comments section at the end of the meeting.
Squeezed between the vote and public forum was the board's discussion over the most appropriate ways to reopen the district's buildings when the fall start of the school year arrives.