AURORA, Ill. – Some Black leaders in Aurora are calling for the resignation of school board member Mayra Reyes over her past comments about Black students in the district.
Quad County Urban League President, CEO Theodia Gillespie, DuPage County NAACP President Michael Childress, and retired district administrator Cynthia Latimer Butler are among the people calling for Reyes’ resignation from the East Aurora School District 131 School Board.
According to the accusers, Reyes has created an “unwelcome” climate in the district after the remarks she made about Black students enrolled in the district’s Dual Language Program.
“As far as the dual language program, I’m not as in support of it as I once was,” said Reyes in an audio file. “I struggle with the fact that we are now giving the advantage that Spanish speakers may have at one point or another had over somebody who wasn’t. Now we’re making us all kind of even in that playing field. So, for example, we may have an African American kid who did not grow up speaking Spanish. Now they’re speaking Spanish along with the kid who did grow up speaking Spanish and may have at one point had a job translating, but now he [ the African American kid] can do that too. So, I feel like that advantage has now been taken away.”
The accusers are calling on the school board to take a vote of no confidence against Reyes and for leadership to address “system inequities, adopt transparent policies, and ensure Black voices are included in decision-making processes.”
What they’re saying:
“This was the final straw in a long line of grievances voiced by Black staff and families,” Gillespie said. “They feel unfairly targeted and excluded from having a voice in schools and at the leadership table.”
In a meeting with the East Aurora Superintendent, the individuals said they were concerned about Reyes’s comments, staff intimidation and retaliation, a lack of Black representation in leadership, and questionable discipline practices that were disproportionate to Black students.
Childress added, “This is not just about one comment. It’s about a culture that has made many Black families feel like outsiders in their own schools. That has to change.”
What’s next:
FOX 32 did reach out to Reyes for a comment, but we have not yet heard back.
Community leaders, parents and staff are expected to attend the East Aurora School Board meeting at 7 p.m. Monday night to address the issue.
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