New Jersey educator passed over for 45 promotions because he’s white, he claims in lawsuit

nypost.com ^ | May 14, 2023 | Dean Balsamini

[lowbridge]

A New Jersey educator was passed over for nearly four dozen promotions because he is white, he claims in an explosive new lawsuit.

Thomas F. Franco alleges the Paterson, NJ school district won’t promote him to an administrative position solely because of his skin color, according to the discrimination lawsuit filed last month.

The 58-year-old Ringwood resident contends he’s applied for “more than 45 positions” since he was hired in 2016, and has only been interviewed once.

“Nearly all administrative level positions within the PPS [Paterson Public Schools], greater than 95%, are held by Black and Hispanic individuals,” according to the suit filed in Passaic Superior Court.

“Many of the people” hired instead of him were “less experienced” and didn’t have his academic credentials, Franco argued in papers.

Franco has the necessary state certificates to fill the principal and vice principal posts he sought, his lawyer told The Post.

And he served as an interim administrator in 2016.

“While I applaud the fact that the district employs many minorities to serve its mostly minority student population, at the same time the district should not prevent highly qualified individuals who may be a non-minority, from being promoted,” said attorney Evan Goldman.

“Mr. Franco’s potential promotion will only serve to enhance all of the students experiences in the district.”

Franco has two master’s degrees from St. Peter’s University and Rutgers University, and a bachelor’s degree in biology and psychology from Rutgers, according to his LinkedIn page.

[Jeff Chandler]

You betta check yo privelege, Bro.

[MtnClimber]

[lee martell]

I wish him luck. At age 58, this will probably be the last thing he officially does in education before retirement.
And you never know. Maybe he is still hungry for that promotion, and has no plans to step back from the work force.

If he does stay working in education after this suit has been filed, he may want to switch school districts, because that type of working environment is notorious for ‘payback’ to whistleblowers.

[Bounced2X]

Franco has two master’s degrees from St. Peter’s University and Rutgers University, and a bachelor’s degree in biology and psychology from Rutgers

OK, but can he speak Spanish & Ebonics?

[Bullish]

Too bad whitey, you’re now the new n***** and payback’s a byatch.

[Reno89519]

More power to him. I hope his case gets a fair hearing. Affirmative action, bias, and bigotry must be replaced with merit.

[Jim Noble]

There has never been a final court ruling that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to whites.

It’s past time to find out if it does, since it says so in plain English.

[hanamizu]

It’s past time to find out if it does, since it says so in plain English.

---

Yeah, but courts have a funny way of ruling that plain English doesn’t mean what everybody knows it means. Too many examples at hand. “Shall not be infringed” and “sex” come to mind.

[frank ballenger]

I agree but we must

“Dream, when you’re feeling blue. Dream, that’s the thing to do.” (Dream, 1945, The Pied Pipers)

[hanamizu]

“Maybe he is still hungry for that promotion...”

---

I’ll be he is. His salary (and later pension) as an administrator will be much more than as a teacher.

This is not to say that he’s being denied the position because of his race.

[ridesthemiles]

Merit disappeared when BARRY was elected in 2008.

[Right_Wing_Madman]

There has never been a final court ruling that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to whites.

In 2002 (Sirmans v. Brownlee), a US District Court found the US Army's promotion system, implemented during the Clinton administration, which favored women and minorities, to be unconstitutional on grounds that it violated the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection. The case clarified that these rights were guaranteed at the federal and state level and the army did not appeal the decision. The Civil Rights Act was not cited in the opinion.

https://casetext.com/case/sirmans-v-brownlee

[sit-rep]

ya well guess who was all gung ho when voting for the minorities who are in those positions now!!?? I dont feel sorry for any white person in these situations. they sucked “Booty” all along thinking they would never be turned on and viola!! here we go!

Same with any leftist!! they think they are going to be on the winning team when once the team becomes majority black, they will be discarded like a used condom...

[ConservativeInPA]

The guy is an idiot. What white man would ever want to work with 95% blacks and Hispanics?

[dangus]

Rats. Biased hiring is a very real problem, but this guy’s claim that the district staff is 95% minority simply isn’t true. I’d say over 1/3 of the admin visible from the district’s school’s pages are white, including several males.

[cgbg]

Paterson NJ is one of the police departments featured in On Patrol Live.

It is a stunningly awful dump—in other words a Democratic paradise.

White people would find life on the Moon more tolerable.

[No name given]

That man ruined our country!

[Organic Panic]

“While I applaud the fact that the district employs many minorities to serve its mostly minority student population”

I bet this idiot supports every single one of the marxist policies that led to him being passed up for promotions and has voted democrat his entire voting life. Enjoy the suck.

[pangaea6]

Maybe it’s the penalty payments that will put him over the top and he can then retire. More power to him. I’m sure his 2 Masters degrees crush the diversity choices