ROCKWOOD ADMINISTRATOR RESIGNS AFTER SUBMITTING QUESTIONABLE CONTRACTS

Dr. Terry Harris, Rockwood's Executive Director of Student Services, sent out an email Friday to district staff. He announced that he is resigning, effective January 13th:

"I am resigning so I can feel safe in my body and in my workplace--mentally and emotionally. I am resigning in order to return to feeling valued as one of the region's most innovative, student centered educators."

Terry Harris' resignation email to staff

The resignation continues the spotlight that's been on Harris since September, when Rockwood's Board of Education first expressed concern over a contract he had been submitting, yearly, for approval.

That company was temporarily not allowed to do business in the state of Missouri, and, the BOE later rejected it, along with two other contracts Harris submitted, in October. The vote was 4-3. 

We have reported extensively on those contracts, an apparent Harris conflict of interest, lack of bids for the contracts, and, multiple arrest warrants for a speaker that Harris hired, to teach students about personal responsibility.  

Get all the details here.

This was not Harris' first time in the spotlight. In June of 2021, he was interviewed by Time magazine and claimed in other articles that he'd been receiving death threats from parents who opposed lesson content that emphasizes diversity, equity and inclusion.

St. Louis Public Radio

Said death threats have been referenced repeatedly in news articles about Harris, though no proof of any death threats has ever surfaced.

Note: Rockwood said it was careful NOT to characterize communication with Harris as death threats: 

Because Harris references the need to feel safe as a reason for resigning, it seems relevant to explain what is known about the alleged history of threats in Rockwood.

When alleged threats dominated headlines in 2021, Harris provided this screenshot as evidence of parents threatening him. It's the one that was discussed in Time Magazine.

Note: 

It's not a threat.

It's not from a parent.

It was written by a Rockwood employee.

And, it wasn't sent to Terry Harris.

Instead, the Rockwood employee sent it TO a parent, who posted it on social media to show that employees are "scared of" Terry Harris. The context was that employees wanted Harris to be fired because he's "the most racist guy towards white people you'll ever meet."

HOW HE GOT IT

Another parent got the screenshot third hand and emailed it to Rockwood. Harris believed it was a threat against him because that mom said it was.

This is how Harris described his panic in Time Magazine:

TIME Magazine

The "Protect your people" email is shown below.

"Jennifer" had emailed the district multiple times, with screenshots, that she said showed multiple parents were racists, prone to violence. 

She was later discredited on local talk radio after disparaging comments she posted about then BOE candidate Izzy Imig.

Records requests to Rockwood and multiple law enforcement agencies yielded no proof of threats.  Incident reports are not available to the public when charges aren't filed. Eureka police provided status information, which showed incidents were closed as unfounded. 

 UNCERTAIN

Harris' departure leaves the future uncertain for another department he oversees: the Department of Educational Equity and Diversity. That department's administrator, Dr. Aisha Grace, has already been on leave, due to a pending DWI charge.

The department's previous administrator, Brittany Hogan, also resigned. She did so, amid claims of racism and death threats. No proof of her death threats has ever surfaced, either.

THE VOTES THAT STARTED IT ALL

Harris has stated he was deeply hurt that the BOE rejected his contracts. Some parents unhappy with the votes have suggested the votes were racially motivated, since Harris is Black, and, the contracts were for programs that primarily benefitted Black students.

However, two of the four BOE directors that rejected the contracts are minorities like Harris is: Jessica Clark is Black. Izzy Imig is an Arab immigrant from Iraq. Voters overwhelmingly elected Clark and Imig last April.

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Because Terry Harris references his safety as a reason for resigning, this post was updated to add additional context that might help readers better understand the full context about alleged threats in Rockwood.

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