A Georgia middle school teacher has been suspended, docked five days of pay and must participate in diversity training because she posted her negative view of a person holding a “Black Lives Matter” sign on her personal Facebook account.
The teacher, Kelly Tucker, teaches at Eighth Street Middle School in Tifton, Ga., a town of about 17,000 in the southern part of the state.
Tucker’s Dec. 6 Facebook post, which went viral (at least locally) read:
“Its turned into a race matter. What about the thugs that beat the father in his vehicle because he didn’t slow down? What about the thugs that shot the college baseball player because they were bored? The list can go on and on. If the dude hadn’t have stolen, he would be alive. I think signs should read, take the hood off your head and pull up your dang pants and quit impregnating everybody. I’m tired of paying for these sorry [expletive] thugs. I would much rather my hard earned money, that the government takes, go to people who need it, such as abusive adults with children. Not to mention the animals that they beat and fight too. That’s all I’m saying.”
The Facebook post was Tucker’s response to an image of protesters holding a “Black Lives Matter” sign, The Tifton Gazette reports.
“Black Lives Matter” and the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag have become a popular rallying cry for activists distressed by the recent deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. and Eric Garner in Staten Island, N.Y., and the subsequent non-indictments for the police officers who killed the two men. (RELATED: Ivy League School Crafts #BlackLivesMatter Course)
The Tift County School Board had originally suspended Tucker for 10 days without pay. On Wednesday night, board members voted 4 to 1 to reduce the suspension to five days, reports WALB, a local television station.
“The ground does exist to impose disciplinary action against Mrs. Tucker and impose a five day suspension without pay and diversity training,” board member John Smith said at a board meeting.
The board’s deliberation over the punishment lasted many hours.
Hank Pittman, the local school board attorney, had argued for a 10-day suspension.
“It’s clear reading this message in context that it’s directed toward African-Americans. It contains many negative stereotypes directed toward African-Americans,” he had said at a board meeting a few days ago, according to the Gazette.
“What this post has done is offend a large segment of our society here in Tifton — the African-American community — and it has undermined Ms. Tucker’s ability to function in her position as a teacher, especially where you have parents who are calling wanting their students removed from her class,” Pittman said.
“The post is a violation of the code of ethics for educators,” he added.
Tina Folsom, an attorney representing Tucker, told the school board that Tucker’s Facebook post had been blown bizarrely out of proportion.
Folsom noted that the First Amendment prohibits government entities from abridging speech. The lawyer also argued that the local critics of Tucker’s words have misconstrued her intent.
“For Ms. Tucker not to mention a particular race and for them to take offense to that, that is their opinion and their right under the First Amendment as well,” Folsom said, according to the Gazette.
Folsom observed that the original 10-day suspension, at $250 per day of lost pay, would equate to a $2,500 fine for Tucker. (Thus, the five-day suspension without pay will cost Tucker $1,250.)
“We’re judging Ms. Tucker, in my opinion, very harshly for something that was done not while she was teaching, not in the presence of students, not directed toward students and not directed toward a particular race,” Folsom urged.
Tucker’s attorney also noted that another Facebook comment the teacher had made was: “All lives matter.”
According to the local newspaper, the relevant Tift County Schools Employee Handbook portion reads:
“An educator shall demonstrate conduct that follows generally recognized professional standards and preserves the dignity and integrity of the teaching profession. Unethical conduct includes, but is not limited to, any conduct that impairs and/or diminishes the certificate holder’s ability to function professionally in his or her employment position, or behavior or conduct that is detrimental to the health, welfare, discipline or morals of students.”
Tucker has been a teacher in the local school system for 25 years.
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