More than 100 people have signed a petition calling for the resignation or removal of Sherry Sousa, the superintendent of the Mountain Views Supervisory Union, in the wake of a VTDigger story last month about persistent racial harassment a 13-year-old Black student faced at Woodstock Union Middle and High School.

“It should not take another child being harmed to expose the issues we already know exist in our schools. We owe it to our children to do better, starting now,” states the letter, whose signatories include parents of children attending schools in the seven-town district in central Vermont.

The letter, submitted to the 18-member supervisory union board last week, calls on it to “remove Superintendent Sousa, and to appoint leadership that embodies the values of accountability, inclusivity, collaboration and meaningful change.”

Sousa said she read the petition “with a heavy heart.” 

“I acknowledge that addressing racism in a public school is work that is never complete and can always be done better,” she wrote in an email.

Although teachers and school administrators try to address “harmful events,” they do not have “the capacity to prevent these situations from happening, though we wish we could,” she added.

After an investigation, the Vermont Human Rights Commission unanimously concluded last year that there were reasonable grounds to believe the school and supervisory union had discriminated against the student by failing to adequately intervene on his behalf. 

The Woodstock school and the Mountain Views (formerly Windsor Central) Supervisory Union denied any wrongdoing but agreed to a $175,000 settlement — the largest individual settlement for a school-based discrimination claim in the commission’s history, officials said.

Sousa disagreed with the commission’s findings, stood behind the actions of the staff and administrators and said she “decided to settle the dispute to avoid the time and expense of litigation.”

Jessica Kirby, one of the parents from Woodstock who helped craft the petition, said it was borne “out of concern expressed by community members” who disagreed with the approach taken by the district after they learned about the case.

“Failure to accept responsibility at the leadership level sets a dangerous precedent, signaling to the community that unacceptable behavior will be tolerated,” Kirby wrote in an email. 

Of the 105 who have signed the petition, 61 are residents of Woodstock, according to the petition.

‘We are certainly going to be vigilant’

Jaya Holliman is the mother of the Black student who faced repeated racial harassment from fellow students while he was in 7th grade at the Woodstock school, according to the Human Rights Commission investigation.

Her son is now 17 and attending a private high school in another district. 

“It feels good to finally have community support and know there are people who will take a stand against discrimination even if it isn’t the current school officials,” she wrote in a text message, when asked about the petition. It highlights, she said, “the unacceptableness of Sousa’s singular decision as the leader of a community to vocally deny any wrongdoing whatsoever.”

While the board has received the petition, it has not publicly discussed it yet, according to Keri Bristow of Woodstock, the chair.  

“I think the majority of the school board is not in favor of firing our superintendent,” she said Wednesday, adding that Sousa has been evaluated annually with positive reviews.

Bristow said schools in the district and Sousa take “racism and anti-racism and gender identity bias” very seriously. “When they know about it, they follow up on it and do the investigations that are necessary.” 

“We certainly are going to be vigilant to make sure that when these kinds of incidents happen, they’re investigated thoroughly and done properly, according to the timelines that are important and necessary,” Bristow added. 

One board member has already written a letter in support of Sousa.

Anna Sessa, who wrote that one of her children is Black, said that despite her family facing “repeated racial incidents” in schools, they have “always been impressed” with how school leadership handled it.

She has not had any experience working with Sousa in those matters but wrote that the superintendent “has repeatedly shown her motivation to create an antiracist district.”

In an email Wednesday Sessa wrote, “This student was treated horrifically by their peers. It disgusts me and breaks my heart for all involved, especially the student.” 

She also wrote that “staff and leadership worked tirelessly with the student’s well being as their priority from start to finish.”

The Human Rights Commission investigation outlines several instances of school administrators  failing to follow their own policies around hazing, harassment and bullying in the case.

‘A repeated pattern’

In her response to the petition, Bristow said, “I do also think that is a fairly new experience for the Mountain Views district with these kinds of things happening and I think they’re trying very hard to do the right things.”

But the petition contends the case was “not an isolated incident but a repeated pattern.” 

It references another harassment-related settlement and outlines previous instances of parents reporting children being bullied, describing a “pattern of highly insufficient and inadequate response” from the administration.

The petition calls on the school board to work with the Human Rights Commission and the state Agency of Education “to address this concerning pattern.” 

It suggests the two settlements represent a misuse of public funds. “The issue is not just the settlement itself — it includes legal fees, public relations costs, and other expenses aimed at protecting the superintendent rather than our children,” the letter states. 

Mia Schultz, president of the Rutland Area National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, wrote in an email that the concerns raised by the petition reflect a pattern of harm that extends beyond a single case, highlighting repeated failure to protect students and a reluctance to take meaningful corrective action.

“This is bigger than any one person — it is about whether our schools prioritize student safety or protect institutions at all costs,” Schultz wrote.