Board of Ed. Doesn’t Explain How They Reviewed Allegations Against Superintendent

Ithaca City School District Superintendent, Dr. Luvelle Brown has been accused of professional misconduct.

The allegations against Dr. Luvelle Brown come from his ex-wife, Anjanette Brown. She has accused him of abusing his power as Superintendent to benefit himself in a custody battle over their children 

The Board of Education Board said they have reviewed these allegations, and dismissed them, calling them a personal family matter. Parents, teachers, and students have raised concern over how the Board reviewed these allegations.

Over 200 people attended February 9th’s Virtual Board of Education meeting to voice their concerns. Some went as far to accuse the board of abusing their power in how they handled the allegations against Dr. Brown.

One attendee said, “We do not want details of anyone’s family life. We want explanations and accountability for the statements regarding Dr. Brown, Lily Talcott, Kate Reed, Robert Ainslie, and Sean Eversley-Bradwell’s misuse of power in their positions.”

At the start of the meeting, Board of Education members emphasized Dr. Brown’s role as a leader in educational change at ICSD. Dr. Brown is black, and has played an important role introducing anti-racist curricula in the school district . 

When asked by a student representative why the board would not be more transparent about their review of the allegations against Dr. Brown , 

Board member Sean Eversley-Bradwell responded saying he understood the point of the question, but continued, “...I oftentimes want to remind people that Ithaca is made up of multiple communities. So folks in the community that I spend my time with are not asking that question. They’re asking about how we can get more than forty percent of our black and brown kids who are failing one class to do something different.” Eversley-Bradwell is also black.

The board said they are open to an investigation from New York State or an independent organization, but clear steps toward those actions were not discussed at the meeting.

This story was reported by  Ithaca High School Student Aitan Avgar.