4 NOVEMBER 21, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Ex-member of Christ the King board says
he was let go over sweater controversy
BY MAX PARROTT
MPARROTT@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Anthony Como, the former vice
president of Christ the King
(CTK) High School’s board of
directors, claims that he was recently
removed from his position in retaliation
for voicing criticism of the school’s
reaction to accusations of racial insensitivity
last year.
In February 2018, the school did
not allow Malcolm Xavier Combs,
a student named aft er the radical
black activist, to print the name
“Malcolm X” on his senior sweater.
The school claimed that there was a
policy against printing nicknames
on sweaters.
In April 2018, Combs fi led a complaint
with the City Commission of
Human Rights about the school’s reaction
to his senior sweater request.
Como claims he was forced off of the
board in December of 2018 and he
fi led an affi davit the following April
in support of Combs’ complaint, in addition
to a separate verifi ed complaint
that he was terminated in retaliation
for criticizing the school.
On Monday, he made his affi davit
public.
“As a proud graduate of Christ
the King Regional High School and
a dedicated alumni member of the
Board of Directors, I was appalled by
the abuse of power of school offi cials
and their blatant racism toward one
of our students,” Como said. “I will
fi ght tirelessly to ensure that Christ
the King’s reputation for inclusivity,
diversity and education excellence
will not be jeopardized by those few
corrupt individuals who profi t from
the institution.”
The Commission on Human Rights’
investigation is still ongoing aft er
almost two years. Como said that
waited until now to go public with
his complaint because he thought
that the investigation would go faster,
but said that he hoped his testimony
could speed things along.
He also said that he had hoped the
board Chairman Serphin Maltese
might change his mind about terminating
him. Como claimed that in
the time since he left the board other
members have stepped down in reaction
to the way the school treated him
and handled the controversy.
In the affidavit, Como gives an
account of how he discovered that
the school fabricated the policy that
stopped students from printing
nicknames on their sweaters. He
also accused Vice Principal Veronica
Arbitello of deliberately trying to embarrass
Combs when she confronted
him over his sweater request.
Como said Maltese opposed his calls
for a full investigation of the incident.
Instead, the school released a public
statement that defended Arbitello’s
response to the incident. In the following
months, Como continued to
press for an investigation, without
any success.
Como, who formerly served in the
File photo
City Council in 2008 and previously
worked as counsel to former state
Senator Maltese, claimed that he was
removed from the board’s executive
committee without any notice, or
opportunity to be heard in early
December.
Shortly aft er, Maltese emailed to
inform him he would be removed
from the board altogether aft er he
missed more than three meetings in
a row, citing a rule that puts a limit on
absences “without a valid excuse.”
Como said that he had called in
before each of these absences to let
the board know ahead of time that
he would not be attending because
of responsibilities to his newborn
daughter and son, who has Down
syndrome.
He is calling for an opportunity to
clear his name, to be reinstated in his
previous position and to be paid in
compensatory damages.
Christ the King High School and
Maltese declined to respond to a
request for comment.
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