By Guy Page
The Randolph school superintendent who punished a female student for protesting changing her clothes in the presence of a biologically male student announced his resignation earlier this month.
On a December 8 Front Porch Forum post, Layne Millington, Superintendent of the Orange Southwest School District, said he is “proud to be able to leave an incredibly strong foundation to the next superintendent” after seven years leading the district.
“While I have cherished this opportunity, it has not been without its challenges. Six years ago, OSSD was in dire shape by nearly every measure. Today, the district is performing well above the state average. Over the last six years, the district has been transformed and I am now ready for a new environment and challenge,” Millington wrote.
He listed among his accomplishments:
- Students’ test scores above the state average and those of neighboring districts.
- Two of the district schools this year earned Best School Badges from Newsweek.
- Creation of a full-day public preschool for all four-year-olds to better develop students’ social and academic foundations in support of later learning.
- Creation of a million-dollar K-12 STEM program.
- Creation of a full district-wide curriculum team
However, Millington will be best remembered by some for supporting school administrators’ decision to discipline Blake Allen, a member of the girls’ volleyball team, who objected to a biological male team member watching her and the other girls undress. The school eventually paid the Allens cash to settle a lawsuit filed by the family.
Millington also oversaw the firing of Blake Allen’s father as a school soccer coach, banned the “Let’s Go Brandon” and “there are two gender” T-shirts, and called a Chick-Fil-A fundraiser ‘hateful.’
In an interview with the Herald, the weekly community newspaper for Randolph and surrounding towns, Millington said local blowback from the Allen affair contributed to his decision to leave.
“I let the board chair know a few weeks ago that I had no desire to seek another contract,” Millington… “I made this decision over a year ago,” the Herald reported December 14. Millington was “so deeply saddened and disheartened” that more people didn’t support him at the time, he said. He, his family and students and staff faced death threats, he said.
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