Springfield Schools Superintendent Daniel Warwick abruptly stepped down on Thursday, two days after a recording of disparaging comments he made about a School Committee member and her family went viral. One of the comments included profanity.
Warwick, who was facing calls for his resignation, told Mayor Domenic J. Sarno in a letter Thursday about his decision to begin his planned retirement more than three weeks ahead of schedule.
“Due to my desire to act in the best interests of Springfield Public Schools students, staff, families, and the community-at-large, I am notifying you that I will be retiring effective Friday, June 7, 2024,” he wrote in an excerpt of the letter that was shared by the district.
His departure comes one day after he publicly addressed the controversy and issued an apology to School Committee member LaTonia Monroe Naylor and her family.
Advertisement
The controversy began with a conversation that Warwick had Tuesday night with a colleague about recent events in Springfield and somehow it got recorded, according to a separate statement released Wednesday. In the recording, Warwick spoke with a female colleague about his discontent with Monroe Naylor and her family. That colleague also shared her own frustrations.
“These people are freaking scumbags,” Warwick said in the recording. “And those Naylors, they steal everything that’s not bolted down.”
Later on in more harsh language, Warwick said, “In other words, [expletive] you LaTonia.”
The female colleague was not identified in the recording.
Warwick, who is wrapping up a 48-year career in education and a 12-year tenure leading the state’s third-largest district, expressed regrets about his remarks in his statement.
“I am mortified,” he said. “The remarks that I made were the result of total frustration with some of the issues we have been dealing with to uphold school department policies. However, this is no excuse. It was never my intention to hurt anyone, and I would never expect it to be captured and shared. I sincerely apologize for the disparaging characterization it casts on School Committee woman Latonia Monroe Naylor and her family.”
Monroe Naylor said Thursday night she wishes Warwick “the best in his next chapter.”
“I am elated that the community spoke and that the message was heard loud and clear,” she said. “Now we can move on to focus on the education of our children and rebuilding a culture of proficiency and equity.”
Advertisement
The controversy comes on the heels of a contentious search for a new superintendent that ended last week when the School Committee in a 4-3 vote selected Sonia Dinnall for the job. She will be the first woman and the first Black woman to lead Springfield schools and Monroe Naylor had pushed for her appointment. The recorded conversation began with Warwick talking about the search process.
Monroe Naylor said in an interview Wednesday she was shocked and hurt by Warwick’s comments and had no idea he felt that way about her and her family. She said she felt even worse when he began making disparaging comments about children in the family.
“Talking about the kids is what rubbed me the wrong way,” she said. “For children to be talked about is a whole other issue. To think about my children, who have never been in trouble with the law, for them to be called crazy or scumbags bothered me more than anything.”
She said it was her understanding that Warwick’s comments ended up on someone’s voicemail when a call was accidentally made during the conversation and the person didn’t pick up. The recording eventually went viral.
Sarno condemned the comments in a statement Wednesday.
“This is both shocking and disappointing to me,” said Sarno, who chairs the School Committee. “These comments, even out of frustration, are totally unacceptable and unprofessional, and merits an apology.”
Prior to the controversy, Warwick appeared poised for a graceful exit. He had received a lifetime achievement award earlier this year from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Warwick had boosted high school graduation rates in Springfield by nearly 30 percentage points to 83 percent last year, oversaw more than $1 billion in new and improved school infrastructure, pioneered free universal pre-K access for all 3- and 4-year-olds, fostered greater staff diversity, and decreased school suspensions.
Advertisement
Monroe Naylor said she just spent Monday evening with Warwick at Putnam Vocational Technical Academy’s graduation at Springfield’s Symphony Hall, where her second oldest daughter graduated as class president. Monroe Naylor and Warwick had talked and laughed at the event, she said.
In the recording, though, Warwick and his colleague mocked Monroe Naylor for needing additional tickets to accommodate her family for a Symphony Hall event. Monroe Naylor said the event they were referring to was the high school commencement, and noted that other families could also get more tickets if they needed them.
The recording began as the conversation was already in progress and Warwick and his colleague appeared to be talking about the superintendent search and the credentials of the three finalists. The incoming superintendent was the only one of the three finalists who held a doctorate. (Monroe Naylor said she had touted Dinnall’s doctorate as one of the reasons she supported her.)
“What LaTonia thinks about the credentials, I mean consider the source,” he said. “You’re talking about a scumbag.”
He also accused Monroe Naylor of attempting to secure special treatment for one of her family members.
“She called to get one of the crazy Monroes into a school,” he said, adding he refused the request.
Advertisement
Monroe Naylor said she simply was asking questions about the transfer process for a family member’s child who is enrolled in a virtual school and wasn’t trying to pull strings.
“I follow the rules to a fault,” she said, noting she was still processing Warwick’s comments.
James Vaznis can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @globevaznis.