A video showing a local school administrator discriminating against conservatives, Catholics, and older teachers is grabbing the headlines across the state of Connecticut and the entire U.S.
Jeremy Boland, the assistant principal of Cos Cob Elementary School, has been placed on administrative leave amid several investigations regarding his conduct.
News 8 talked with James O'Keefe, the founder of Project Veritas, the company that released the controversial secret recording. He said the video had been viewed millions of times on their social media and website.
Boland admits to discrimination in secret video
Boland can be seen in the video sitting in multiple restaurant settings with a woman asking him several questions. Boland, who did not know he was being recorded, allegedly admitted to discriminating against older teachers, Catholics, and conservatives. He also said that he refuses to hire them.
O'Keefe said that if you are lying, cheating, stealing, scamming the taxpayers, or lying to the parents of Connecticut, they will find out, film you, and make you famous.
He was met with cheers by his supporters during a bombshell news conference held in Greenwich on Wednesday, August 31, according to Connecticut News Junkie.
He said that they are a non-profit organization and an investigative news organization. He added that they expose waste, fraud, abuse, corruption, dishonesty, and self-dealing and are doing a story on teachers and principals.
Part of the story they are doing is an explosive hidden camera video of Boland allegedly admitting to discriminating against teachers of a certain political view, age, and region, as well as teaching new educators to be more progressive with their thinking.
O'Keefe said his first reaction when he saw the video was, why is this man hiding this information from the people. O'Keefe's second reaction was that he felt obligated to publish the recording and to follow up by doing more investigative work on this and creating a series about what was happening in the schools.
Investigations launched after the release of the Greenwich admin video
The controversial video has led to an investigation by the Greenwich Board of Education, the Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, and the Greenwich first selectman Fred Camillo. The latter is launching a probe to see if hiring discrimination is a pervasive problem in the school district.
Camillo said that as bad as this is, and no one is happy about it, you want to make sure there is an opportunity to fix something and that you do it. He added that he had received countless messages and calls from upset and concerned residents.
O'Keefe said he thinks they need more transparency, and they need to know how children are being taught. He hopes there is an effort of transparency, and he hopes these whipsaws others and creates a catalytic effect.
