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Who is Bill Yaeger? NY school board member calls parent 'a**hole' over critical race theory objection

Yaeger told Parent Rich Tyson, 'You’re not gonna stand up here and do anything to me, a**hole'

Bill Yaeger, a school board member from Penfield, New York, called a parent an "a**hole" after facing public backlash from parents against mask policy and the controversial “diversity, equity, and inclusion” curriculum based on critical race theory. Parent Rich Tyson, who has a daughter in the school district, was seen on video jumping on stage to confront Yaeger after he told him, "You’re not gonna stand up here and do anything to me, a**hole.” According to the Daily Wire, Yaeger had to be physically restrained by others on the board and the meeting was halted abruptly.

On June 9, we reported how Dana Stangel-Plowe, a White English teacher, resigned from a $52,000-a-year private preparatory school in New Jersey. saying it was using critical race theory to create a “hostile culture of conformity and fear”. Later, Columbia professor John McWhorter came out in support of Stangel-Plowe, slamming the school 'antiracism' lessons. Earlier another parent Shawn McBreairty from Maine slammed critical race theory in his daughters' school, says it's 'indoctrination'

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Tyson told WROC Yaeger would have tried to physically assault him if he had not been restrained. “He (Yaeger) started kind of motioning for me to come toward the stage, which I did start walking, then he dropped an F-bomb on me,” Tyson said. “That’s when I walked and jumped up on the stage, not to be physically confrontational, but I wanted to address it with him face to face. By the time I got there he had become essentially unhinged.”

“The superintendent, Dr. [Thomas] Putnam, and a few other board members were basically having to restrain him,” Tyson continued. “He was like, you know, ‘I’m going to take you outside’ kind of stuff. And I just basically went up there to tell him ‘you’re not being respectful, you’re not representing us, and get the h*** out of here, get out of this board meeting.’”

“I’m a passionate parent and there were many others in the room and we all felt kind of disrespected by his cavalier attitude toward our comments,” the concerned father added.

The outburst reportedly came after a heated public comment where parents let the board know how they felt about the continued mask policy for children despite the state ruling that they should be "optional" in schools. Parents also railed against the CRT curriculum and an employee they were reportedly intending to vote through that night. According to PJ Media, a new position was being created for a “co-superintendent” focused solely on CRT and “social justice” issues in the school. Tyson told the outlet that parents were never informed about plans to hire this person until hours before the intended vote. They reportedly didn't even know the name of the intended new employee.

Tyson questioned the necessity of a CRT-based “diversity, equity, and inclusion” curriculum in the district and floated questions about potential financial ties to the curriculum, prompting Yaeger to make a gesture appearing to dismiss the concerns. An older woman yelled to Yaeger about the gesture. “What is that?” she asked, having earlier questioned the ongoing mask policy. But a defiant Yaeger continued to make the gesture at the woman, seemingly mocking her, per Tyson.

“Be respectful!” Tyson yelled at Yaeger. “You’re an elected representative representing us, this isn’t about you, bud.” Yaeger “had to be restrained,” Tyson said, adding that he saw two Monroe County sheriffs pull into the parking lot as he left the campus. He told those at the meeting he was willing to speak to law enforcement and was confident he did nothing wrong.

The Penfield Central School District released a statement Wednesday afternoon, acknowledging that Yaeger's behavior was "completely inappropriate" and noting that his term on the school board was ending on June 30. However, the district also condemned Tyson, describing his conduct as "unacceptable."