Another Fresno Unified employee under investigation for offensive remarks, district says
Another Fresno Unified School District employee is under fire this month for posting offensive comments on social media, the district announced late Monday.
The comments were made on Twitter in 2017 and 2018 by a Design Science Middle College High School staffer, the news release said. Officials provided few details but said comments were related to immigration and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, better known as DACA.
The incident is being investigated. Students and community members have asked the district “to take action,” officials said.
“District support staff, along with the school’s administrative team, will listen to those involved and impacted, providing supports to help repair relationships and identify necessary steps in moving the students and staff forward together,” the statement continued. “No matter the intent, discrimination, racism and racial insensitivity will not be tolerated in Fresno Unified.”
About two weeks ago, a teacher at Kings Canyon Middle School, Marcy Barlow Barnhart, faced criticism for speaking out against other educators who supported recent protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Barnhart made her comments on her personal Facebook page, which quickly circulated online before they were taken down.
“Those of you who call yourselves ‘EDUCATORS’ and are on your social media platform supporting the rioting/looting/ criminal behavior going on...... YOU DISGUST ME! I pray to God my students are smarter and less ghetto than you!!”
In a separate video post on her Facebook page, Barnhart said: “Teachers are out there trying to get their students to go and, you know, loot and riot and all that shit and I’m just here having a beer.”
That same week, Fresno Unified announced they were investigating a “racially insensitive incident” that happened during a Hoover High School staff end-of-year celebration. Several staff members were involved in the incident during an after-hours virtual event. No other details were given about what exactly took place.
About two weeks ago, a Clovis Unified School District student was also in hot water for posting racist messages on social media. A petition circulated calling for the student’s expulsion and had more than 7,800 signatures as of Monday evening.
The student’s comments contained multiple racial slurs, including repeated use of the N-word and ended by suggesting white people should protest violence by “hunting and killing” black people.
The Bee is not identifying the student because he is a minor. The district is pursuing consequences “to the fullest extent that the educational code” allows, Superintendent Eimear O’Farrell told The Bee last week.
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