Kent School Board President resigns following ‘insensitive’ comments

Kent School Board President Tim Clarke resigned from his position Friday following “concerning comments” made during a meeting.

The comments were made during a joint meeting with the City of Covington last Monday. Clarke used the word “colony” when referring to a minority group.

He apologized a couple of days later during the school board’s regular Wednesday meeting, but several people said that apology wasn’t enough during the public comment section.

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“I was very concerned about some comments that were made by a member of this board that were misguided and inappropriate, if not outright racist. To make matters worse, an apology was issued at the board meeting on Wednesday night that was severely out of touch,” one commenter said during the public comment, according to KIRO Newsradio.

The board returned to its public meeting and voted 4-0 to accept his resignation. The board also approved a collective statement about the matter:

“The board of directors is aware of certain insensitive comments made by its board president concerning a minority group in Kent. President Clark has submitted his resignation as board president and the board will take further collective action on this matter on Wednesday, March 29.”

While Clarke resigned from his position as president, he will still remain on the board, according to KIRO 7. Members said they will discuss the incident in more detail at this week’s school board meeting.