DiChiara’s condemnation of Ala. governor’s ‘sucks’ comment hits nerve

Retired Alabama school Superintendent Larry DiChiara hit a nerve among the state’s educators this week when he pushed back against Gov. Robert Bentley.

Bentley, speaking to the Alabama Association of Regional Councils, said, “our education system in this state sucks.”

That was more than DiChiara — who spent 35 years in the Alabama public education system as a coach, teacher, administrator and superintendent — could take. He wrote a harshly worded rebuttal to the governor and other state political leaders. It has since gone viral on social media.

“When I first read the governor’s statements about how our educational system in Alabama ‘sucks,’ I felt heartbroken for all of the wonderful educators that I labored with over a 35-year educational career,” DiChiara said Friday morning. “The governor and many legislators have no idea the sacrifice our educators make all over this state despite the dysfunction of our state government and challenges these educators face on a daily basis. Instead of being criticized, they should be celebrated and encouraged.”

And many of those educators have reached out to DiChiara to thank him for standing up for them. He said he has received hundreds of emails, Facebook messages, texts and phones calls from educators across the state.

“Finally someone with integrity and character speaks out to support educators in Alabama!” posted Teresa Turner Whitlock to DiChiara’s Facebook page. “It’s about dang time! Thank you Larry DiChiara for saying what so many of us were thinking!”

DiChiara’s letter, which he first posted and shared on social media, was to the point.

“Have you all lost your damn minds? Do you even have a clue? Are you blind? Are you stupid? Do you even care about how your words impact our educators in this state…and ultimately the kids?” DiChiara wrote on Wednesday.

He said his goal was to give voice to those who felt like they had no voice in the matter and were disturbed when the governor couched the system in such an unflattering and demeaning way.

“We are tired of being beat down and blamed, and feeling unappreciated,” he said on Friday. “Naive as it might have been, I reverted to my adjunct teaching days, and was hoping that I might help our governor and legislators understand that simply grandstanding and demeaning teachers does not exhibit integrity or leadership — both seemingly in short supply.”

DiChiara has been taken aback by the attention he has received, even some calls for him to seek the state’s highest office in two years.

“From the hundreds of messages and responses that I received from them, you can see that they just want to be appreciated for what they do,” he said. “They also do not want to be criticized or lectured by someone who has absolutely lost the moral high ground to do so. My heart broke again and again with each message that I received.”

Bentley, a two-term Republican from Tuscaloosa, is mired in a sex scandal with a top aide.

DiChiara, who left the Phenix City Schools system in 2013 after almost 10 years, now lives in Auburn, Ala., where he owns an educational consulting firm. He has has a noon radio show, “Integrity Matters,” on 95.9 WQSI. He ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for the congressional seat held by Rep. Mike Rogers of Anniston.

This story was originally published November 4, 2016 at 1:31 PM with the headline "DiChiara’s condemnation of Ala. governor’s ‘sucks’ comment hits nerve."