The Cobb County School District said Monday an unspecified number of employees have been placed on administrative leave while it investigates allegations that they posted messages on social media “appearing to celebrate the death of Charlie Kirk.”
In a release sent out Monday afternoon, the Cobb school district said the employees on leave “will not be in a classroom or interacting with students or parents while on leave. The District will complete a thorough investigation and will take appropriate personnel action. We will also report the matter to the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, the ethics board for Georgia educators, requesting appropriate action against their Georgia teaching license.”
The district didn’t indicate how many employees have been placed on leave, and how many are teachers. Nor did the district detail the social media messages or identify the social media platforms where they were posted.
East Cobb News left a message with the Cobb school district seeking more information, but a district spokeswoman said that “We cannot discuss personnel specifically.”
Kirk, 31, was a conservative political activist who was shot and killed in Utah last Wednesday while speaking at a college event.
His death sparked outrage from many conservatives on social media and elsewhere, including President Donald Trump, whom Kirk supported.
But the assassination also has sparked some who opposed Kirk’s politics to express comments that have prompted more controversy.
Employers are taking action against workers who have been accused of cheering Kirk’s killing. Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines has suspended some employees with a message from its chief executive officer.
Teachers around the country also are being suspended or dismissed for negative comments about Kirk, a junior college dropout who had strong appeal with many students.
Cobb school district media and communications director Nan Kiel said in the release that the district was informed by parents about the posts, which she said “are incredibly rare instances and do not reflect the outstanding professionalism demonstrated by the vast majority of Cobb educators daily.”
Kiel further stated that more complaints about the posts “have been received from Cobb educators, stating these behaviors are inconsistent with the professional duty educators owe their students and the Cobb community. We could not agree more. Professional educators are expected to exercise sound judgment and professionalism in and outside the classroom. ”
The Cobb school district has a social media policy for employees that also has provisions for what employees are permitted to post on their personal and social media accounts.
Among the provisions, employees are refrained from posting material that “displays inappropriate personal information, videos, or pictures that impair the employee’s professionalism and reputation” and “harms the reputation of or discredits the District.”
In its release Monday, the district said that “posts that celebrate or support the murder of an innocent person by a school shooter are unprofessional and disruptive to the school environment. We expect Cobb educators to help students learn and grow, which requires limiting disruptions to their classrooms and school. ”
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- Cobb school district sells former Eastvalley ES properties
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Any school/government employee supporting assassination as a means to suppress free speech must be terminated immediately, not placed on “leave” (aka: vacation). These people are disgusting, vile, pigs.
Kirk was not a lawmaker. He was not a politician and had no power to change or restrict the lifestyle or rights of any other person. He was a guy with opinions and a microphone.
While the leftist nut jobs are celebrating the murder of someone for having opposing beliefs, they conveniently ignore that “the forced suppression of opposition” is the literal definition of fascism.
If the persons involved are in the “CLICK”
The School Board WILL cover for them until this blows over!
Unless they have gotten rid of TOM PRICE, one of the people in Human Resources!
Are you serious? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?
If you aren’t attending the funeral, get over it. Seriously. Death of parents, grandparents, and siblings get automatic time off. Death of a good friend who you knew in real life, definitely. Pet death? No way is there time off for that, not that I’m comparing Kirk to a pet. Death is a part of life.
Sure, Kirk had some good points, but he also had many extreme views not to be celebrated. He wasn’t a Cobb County employee. He wasn’t a state employee. He wasn’t a federal employee. He was a social media person who I don’t recall ever suggesting violence. He seemed to be about discussions of issues. Didn’t he have an “Ask me anything” banner above his canopy on college campuses?
How many Cobb students and/or faculty took off when Ozzy or Betty White died? They were more famous than Kirk AND almost everyone like them in their later years.
Why does this feel like when I was a teen and we walked out of school to protest something (can’t remember why anymore), just to get out of class?
Nobody gets out of here alive. Mom always said, life is for the living.
Did you actually read the article? These teachers are not taking time off work to mourn the death of Charlie Kirk. They were placed on leave and are facing the possibility of losing their jobs as well as their teaching licenses due to social media posts they made regarding Kirk’s death. They are being investigated by the school district.
And lose their job they should!
****COBB BOARD OF EDUCATION SHOULD EXPOSE THE TEACHERS INVOLVED !!
I’ll bet one of the ones suspended is Janet Sweeney! She’s a hard leftist who foams at the mouth when in a rage!!
You have some serious reading comprehension issues there, Gen-Xer.
Did you stop reading halfway through the headline to start working on your lengthy, yet complete irrelevant, response?