Outgoing Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Anthony Hamlet spoke publicly for the first time Thursday since he submitted his letter of resignation to the school board.
In an exclusive interview with News Radio KDKA's Lynne Hayes-Freeland, Hamlet said he felt resigning was the right move after seeing the district's issues divide the community.
"When the focus is not on the children, that's a problem," he said. "Right now, in this pandemic, the focus is not on children. Pittsburgh Public Schools is focused on children. The faculty and staff, the administration are focused on children, but if we don't have the whole community behind us, working together, we're not going to maximize the opportunities and supports we need for our children during this pandemic. That's why I felt it was time for me to step away."
Hamlet told Hayes-Freeland prior to the interview he did not want to discuss the state ethics report which cited him for multiple violations.
His only comments on the report Thursday were that he still feels the same about it as he did when it was released.
"The Ethics Commission has come back and said I have done nothing intentionally wrong," he said. "If you want to fault me for some clerical errors in the recording of my time, then so be it, but people are not perfect. There were some mistakes made. Was it intentional? Absolutely not, because if it was, the Ethics Commission would have referred that to the criminal division, and they did not."
Hayes-Freeland asked Hamlet multiple times if he had any regrets. He said he did not, and pointed to the question as an example of the lack of focus in the community.
"The focus is not where it should be when it comes to public education," he said. "It's not on the kids' outcomes. It's on the other things that have nothing to do with improving student outcomes."
Hamlet's resignation is effective Oct. 1. The school board says it plans to approve it in a vote next week.