School Committee Member Faces Backlash On Vote To Close School

SALEM, MA -- School Committee member Manny Cruz said he was called a traitor to Salem's Hispanic community and a "puppet" for Mayor Kim Driscoll in the wake of his vote in favor of closing the Nathaniel Bowditch School last week. The measure passed 6-1 but Cruz, a Latino, has faced the brunt of the political backlash. In a length Facebook post Saturday, Cruz tried to explain the thought process in his decision to close a school that predominantly served Latino families.

"There may have been another path forward but based on all the information provided to me and the dire circumstances, I made the decision that I firmly believe will best serve the needs of all our children," Cruz said. "It's a decision that I know will cause trauma for many of the stakeholders with ties to and that care deeply the NBS community. I know what it is to be angry, to live through injustice, and to experience trauma. I fully value and will absorb all the anger, disappointment, sorrow, and disgust that will be directed at me."

Under the plan, Bowditch's sixth, seventh and eight graders will move to the Collins Middle School next year. School district staff will work with families to place Bowditch elementary students in new schools. The school building would become the new home of the Horace Mann Laboratory School, which is currently located in what Driscoll described as a "substandard" facility on the campus of Salem State University.

Throughout the process, Superintendent Margarita Ruiz has said the decision is part of an effort to "end segregation" at the school, which has a large percentage of Hispanic students and low-income families. The school has consistently failed to meet state performance goals.

Cruz said he felt there were problems with how the district communicated plans to close the school to parents and students, and that he had held out hope there would be an alternative plan presented that would avoid closing the school.

In his post, Cruz said he was confronted by angry parents after last week's school committee meeting. Some called him a traitor, while others questioned his loyalty to Salem's Latino community. One man, Cruz said, told him that he was going to personally see that Cruz's political career came to an end.

"With respect to what was said regarding 'never voting for me again and others will do the same', I said to the constituent that he had a right to feel that way and that I understood where the sentiment was coming from," Cruz said. "Regarding the sentiment that I should have thought of my political future; I was very clear with him and he may not have heard me. I will repeat myself: I will not barter the future of the children to enhance my so-called 'political future'."

For more on this story, see School Committe Member Manny Cruz's Facebook post. Subscribe to Salem Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

Photo by Manny Cruz.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).