Alleged Discriminatory Email Causes Uproar In Cherry Hill
CHERRY HILL, N.J. (CBS) - The controversial email exchange centers around some Department of Public Works employees who at times shovel snow for the Cherry Hill School District.
After we were hit with another blinding snow storm, the principal of Woodcrest Elementary School apparently wrote an email to a district administrator asking for more help clearing away the snow.
This was the response she allegedly received:
"All of my polar bears, trained seals and the two silver back mountain gorillas on loan from the township DPW (you should see them with a snow blower that has a banana tied to the front of it, they go through a blizzard like nothing you have ever seen…) are already strategically reassigned."
The email concludes, "Regards, Kevin Larson. Director of Operations and Facility Management Cherry Hill Board of Education."
"I was disgusted with it. There is no place for language like that. It is discriminatory," Cherry Hill Township Council Vice President Sara Lipsett said.
She overseas the Department of Public works, which has two African-American employees.
"The employees are hot. They are irate about it. This has upset them," Lipsett said.
The Cherry Hill School District released the following statement to CBS 3 Eyewitness News.
"The District deeply regrets the comments made by our employee and we apologize to anyone who was offended. An internal investigation is underway."
Lipsett wants answers.
"I can't speak for the District. I don't know what their protocol is, but I would assume maybe at the Township level, we would look at termination," Lipsett said.
Attempts to email and call Kevin Larson for comment were unsuccessful.
An automatic email reply Eyewitness News received from Larson indicated that will be out on medical leave through March.
Reported By Todd Quinones, CBS Philly
