NEW SCOTLAND — Voorheesville continues to deal with the fallout from incidents of racism and antisemitism at its middle school in the past year.

Parents were made aware of the acts in December. 

The school district, in a Dec. 18 post on its website, said, “On the afternoon of December 17, 2024, our safety monitor discovered vandalism during routine bathroom checks on our MS/HS campus. This included a racial slur and a swastika. We want to ensure you are informed of the incident and the actions taken by the district.”

In April, the district had announced swastikas were found “etched into a music stand” in a Voorheesville school. 

The culprit appears to be an open secret in the district as multiple parents over multiple meetings have, in an indirect yet somehow very direct way, gone out of their way to winkingly acknowledge the student while stating they want to protect his or her privacy.

On Jan. 6, the Voorheesville School Board heard more concerns from parents.

Michael Wilson told the board, “The biggest concern I have here, in case you haven’t been paying attention, I’m a man of color.”

Wilson’s son is a student in Voorheesville who “won the Principal Excellence Award this year, which made my day. He’s on the honor roll.” Wilson said, “We have our roots here in Voorheesville,” he said, and he has no intention of leaving. 

Wilson then turned his attention to recent incidents. 

“I’m not going to get into the names obviously because I can’t do that … We’ve got to protect the kids. I understand that,” he said. “I have children, OK, but my question is: When, at what point, are we going to put other children in danger because of one child?”

He went on, “The situation that my son had to deal with … other situations where the kid I’m talking about — and it’s well known, it’s not so much a secret — I’m not going to say the name standing here now, but this is not the first time I’ve had to hear this child’s name.”

Wilson said he understood protecting the student and that the student had a right to an education. 

“I understand that,” he said. “But what am I supposed to do when there are no metal detectors in this school right now that I know of; what happens if this young man comes in and stabs my son in the back, or by the time it’s corrected, my son is dead?

Wilson had earlier noted the number of mass shootings in America, adding, “How many school events have we had where kids have died?”

Wilson said some may not agree with what he was saying, “I could care less. I’m not here to make friends. I’m here to make sure my son is safe.”

Wilson pointed out there wasn’t a whole lot of diversity in the school district.

“But it’s not just people of color,” Wilson said. “This particular young man I’m talking about is talking about Jews, writing stuff on bathroom walls.”

It was then, in a rare case of actually invoking the rule, Wilson was informed by board President Rachel Gilker that the board has a three-minute time limit for speakers. 

Wilson was then told he could speak after the meeting with Superintendent Frank Macri.