Justin Murphy – Rochester Democrat and Chronicle USA TODAY NETWORK – in the D&C on 10/3/2020 on page A2
Fairport schools Superintendent Brett Provenzano found himself on a political tightrope this week, publicly disavowing any affiliation with the Black Lives Matter movement but still insisting on the district’s commitment to diversity and anti-racism. In a segment on Spectrum News, Provenzano responded to a Fairport High School parent who objected to teachers wearing Black Lives Matter apparel. The woman, Susan Jasie, said that Black Lives Matter is a “political movement,” and that “kids are being told that police are bad.” She noted that her husband is a New York State Police investigator.
In response, according to Spectrum, Provenzano said the district “is not participating in, or endorsing, the Black Lives Matter movement.”
He called the phrase a “political expression” that could prevent some students — the children of law enforcement officers, as Jasie saw it — from feeling “comfortable, safe and dignified” at school.