Ex-Superintendent Omar Easy Sues Wayland Over Discrimination

WAYLAND, MA — Former Wayland superintendent Omar Easy filed a civil lawsuit against Wayland Wednesday, accusing the town and two former school committee members of fostering discrimination against him.

Easy's lawsuit comes just over a year after the school committee voted to put Easy on leave, followed by him filing a complaint against the town and the committee with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

At the top, Easy's lawsuit names a 2022 incident where someone spray-painted Easy's name and the word "n----r" on a building outside the high school. The suit goes on to name incidents involving former school committee vice chair Ellen Grieco and former chair Christopher Ryan, including allegations that he was prevented from succeeding at work due to his race.

"Dr. Easy is one of vanishingly few Black employees in Wayland. For example, before being unlawfully forced from his job, Dr. Easy was one of only three Black members of the district's administrative council - a group of approximately 20 senior district administrators," the lawsuit says.

The suit also names incidents like the racial epithets hurled at a Black Wayland basketball player during a game in Westford, other incidents of racist graffiti in schools and Easy's quarrel with a town employee who called him a "thug" in an email.

Easy's MCAD discrimination complaint is still pending as of this week, with no hearing set, according to the commission.

Last April, the Wayland School Committee hired former Newton superintendent David Fleishman to take over the district. The committee in October voted to extend his contract through the 2024-25 school year.

You can read Easy's lawsuit here: