Troy schools remove honors math for 6th, 7th grades as while school board email draws outrage

TROY (FOX 2) - Suril Patel says he is pulling his 6th-grade daughter out of Troy schools after the removal of honors math classes for grades 6 and 7.

"We will not enroll next year either as a result of this," he said. "I believe the honors course removal was influenced by race.

"A group of parents got together FOIA-ed the emails, and we learned that there was not widespread support at all. Only one parent wrote to the district supporting removal."

At a school board meeting last month an email to math chairs at leading universities by school board President Karl Schmidt was criticized for what some believe he had to say about Asian patents.

"These patents often derive social status from the academic status of their children,"

The superintendent says the board president apologized for how the email remarks were received and offered to meet with those offended, but so far no one has come forward

"That doesn’t match my thinking or Troy School District," said Supt. Dr. Richard Machesky.

Machesky said the removal of some honor courses has nothing to do with race.

"We made a decision on the middle school to reduce accelerated courses in an effort to level up our courses in an effort to provide more opportunities for all students to be prepared when the time is right to make the decision to take accelerated or honors level or advance placement coursework," he said.

Patel disagrees with the method, saying as a result all students will miss out.

"It is hurting students at all ends of the spectrum, by removing ability-based education," he said.

The superintendent makes it clear that this district welcomes all and believes in inclusion.

"The Troy School District has a rich history of embracing diversity we believe in inclusion and belonging for all students," he said.

Troy Schools Supt. Dr. Richard Machesky.