Arbitrator: Montclair must reinstate principal removed over video some called offensive

An arbitrator has ruled that a Montclair principal who showed a video to staff that some called racist must be reinstated.

The decision, coming more than two years after Joseph Putrino, the principal of Renaissance Middle School, was put on administrative leave, puts the district in an awkward spot. At the Nov. 2 Board of Education meeting, parents rallied around Putrino's replacement, Maria Francisco, who could now be replaced by Putrino, praising her connection to the children and voicing concerns about the frequent changes in leadership at the school.

Overturning the arbitrator's decision would require the school district to petition the court, only if it believes the decision was “procured by corruption, fraud or undue means," according to state statute. It's unclear if the district will attempt to do that.

At the close of the BOE meeting, Superintendent Jonathan Ponds commented on the "incredible work" Francisco has done as principal and pledged to do "everything legally possible to keep Ms. Francisco as the school principal at the Renaissance School."

The incident that triggered Putrino's removal took place at a staff convocation in 2020 on Zoom where he played a video of a Black man, played by comedian Josh Pray, yelling about the difficulties of home-schooling his children.

The video was stopped by Ponds after several teachers messaged in the chat that they found the video offensive.

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At the time, Montclair NAACP President Al Pelham called for "immediate action" by the district, citing Putrino's "history of complaints of racial insensitivity.” In 2019, six Black teachers filed a discrimination suit against the district claiming that Putrino had only given white teachers the opportunity to earn additional pay while he was principal at Glenfield Middle School.

In September, Putrino filed suit against the district in an Essex County court, contending that putting him on leave was retaliatory, to punish him for voicing objections to the plan for the reopening of in-person instruction.

The complaint states that the video, entitled “Appreciate Teachers - A Father's Apology,” was a comedic “thank you” to educators and had no connection to race, and that depicting the educator as racist has caused harm to his reputation.

It adds that the comedian himself was mystified as to why his race was brought into this conversation.

When the incident occurred, Pray said, "Those most guilty of racism were the school leaders who ousted the principal."

Julia Martin covers Montclair for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: jmartin@gannettnj.com Twitter: @TheWriteJulia