MPS principal sued by gay parents claiming discrimination
By Nick Bohr
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MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (WISN) — A gay couple is suing a Milwaukee Public Schools principal, claiming he verbally and physically abused their son. The men say the discrimination was targeted at their child because of their sexual orientation.
The suit filed in Federal Court in Milwaukee names Kasongo Kalumbula, who was assistant principal at The French Immersion School during the time of the allegations, which span from 2018 to 2021. It claims Kalumbula violated the boy’s civil rights. The suit also names the Milwaukee School Board as a defendant.
Kalumbula is currently acting principal at MPS’ Bethune Academy. He was interviewed by WISN 12 News in 2022 when the school was expecting Ukranian immigrants. Kalumbula said at the time he valued inclusion.
“Representation is key. It’s crucial to feel like you belong, to feel like being a part of something,” he said.
But the parents of an elementary schooler claim in the new federal civil rights lawsuit that Kalumbula was cruel to their son, and failed to protect him from kids bullying the boy about his gay parents.
They claim Kalumbula even locked the boy in a dark room in the spring of 2019 and said he would “kill the boy if he told anyone that Kalumbula had locked him in the dark room.”
When confronted by one of the child’s parents, Kalumbula is quoted as saying, “No (slur) is going to speak to me like this!”
Later, after students returned from the COVID-19 lockdown, following another bullying incident, according to the suit, Kalumbula told the boy it was inappropriate for the child to react angrily because “most people believe it is wrong to be gay,” and that “he himself had been raised to believe that gay people are evil and will burn in hell,” further telling the child “most people in America do not agree with your parents’ lifestyle.”
After the parents complained to the principal, they said Kalumbula confronted the boy the next day at school and “shoved him against the wall,” according to the lawsuit.
According to the complaint, the parents were stunned that not only was Kalumbula not disciplined, he was promoted to acting principal at Bethune Academy.
According to the suit, the boy suffered “emotional trauma and anxiety, fear, pain and suffering.”
The parents claim their complaints to the school board and MPS Administration, including Superintendent Keith Posley, were ignored.
In a statement to WISN 12 News, an MPS spokesperson said, “In accordance with District policy and Federal and State law, the District does not comment on the circumstances of our individual students and their families. Personnel matters are addressed according to District policy.
The District takes its responsibility for students seriously and acts when issues are identified.”
The spokesperson confirmed Kalumbula remains the acting principal at Bethune Academy.
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