Dr. Daniel Lee, California’s first Department of Education Deputy Superintendent of Equity, was hired despite the fact that he “lives” in Philadelphia and holds a job there more than 2,500 miles from the California schools he was accused of “fixing”. After this, Kevin Kiley, a California Assemblyman (R-06), wrote a letter to Sacramento’s Government Operations Agency asking about the legality of Lee’s hiring.
Surprisingly, Lee resigned his position just a few days later. If you are like me and don’t live in a waking world, then you may not have known there was a deputy superintendent for equity. It is unlikely that you even know what this creature does. You don’t have to worry about what he does.
How did Lee land this state job with a snub that pays almost $180,000 in taxpayer-funded salaries? Kiley stated that the new position was created by Tony Thurmond, State Superintendent of Public Instruction specifically for Lee. Thurmond is a friend and former groomsman. Thurmond announced a number of “multi-pronged partnerships” and initiatives to combat implicit bias and racism in California schools on June 4, 2020. Dr. Daniel Lee, President-Elect of the New Jersey Psychological Association, and Principal Consultant to N-PSY-T Psychological Services. He is currently developing a model that schools can use to address implicit biases on student achievement.
According to the Department of Education, the deputy superintendent of equity focuses on equity in areas such as student counseling, social-emotional education, and other educational programs. Lee does not have any experience performing in these areas in public schools. Although it sounds like equality, “equity”, a favorite woke term used by the left, is anything but equal. Kiley stated that California politics has a good rule of thumb: “When you hear the term ‘equity’, something fishy is going on.”
It is hard to imagine how Thurmund could not have known that Lee’s hiring was at least unethical and most likely illegal. He really believed that a scandal involving his unqualified, out-of-state pal being hired for a state job under his direct supervision was the best way to “fix California’s public schools. Although it is a mystery, it’s not surprising that he would pretend he didn’t know. Lee has resigned, and California’s tax money won’t be wasted on an ineffective position for the time being.
There are still many questions: Will Lee have to pay the California taxpayers in full? Thurmond will be fired or censured for his nepotistic and illegal hiring practices. Thurmund should be allowed to keep his job. How many other California bureaucrats were hired in similar circumstances? Is California really in need of a deputy superintendent for equity?
