Teacher fired for personal opinions

Schaumburg (Ill.) teacher Jeanne Hedgepeth learned the hard way not to comment on her social-media page about the riots that followed George Floyd's death.

How many more teachers are worried that their employers will can them, if they speak out on their own time?

FoxNews reporter Charles Creitz ptrobably belongs over at CNN or MSNBC or ABC for describing Derek Chauvin as Floyd's "killer". And did you know, before that article, that Floyd was shot to death?

This, from the FoxNews article, "...property vandalized in response to the shooting death of George Floyd, a Black man from Minneapolis whose killer, Officer Derek Chauvin, was later convicted of murder."

I've been mistaken all this time, apparently, in thinking that Floyd's death had something to do with a police officer's knee on his back or shoulder. No doubt FoxNews will edit the article, but that's how it reads right now.

This nonsense by school boards must be stopped. Just consider the chilling effect on free speech that the school board's power to terminate 20 years of employment over a personal opinion or comment.

The riots that followed and follow Floyd's death were and are dangerous. Look at what has followed. In California thieves can brazenly enter a store and walk out with armloads of new clothing. Unchallenged. Why? Because a challenge might result in a riot!

How many teachers in Richland 2 School District are afraid to speak out against the riots following Floyd's death? How many will be accused of being racists, if they comment on anything that has to do with black crime or other dishonesty?

When you teachers take a good look at the composition of the Richland 2 School Board, you do have reason to fear. Right now the Board has two members (well, not really "members") and two board officers who aren't even legal board members. When the legal members won't do anything about it, they are as wrong as the two women who are usurping public office!

I remember the RCSD deputy sergeant who tried to sandbag me after Holmes accused me of harassing her in 2019. In an aggressive tone of voice, he said, "You just want those two women (Holmes and McKie) kicked off the board!"

I didn't take the bait. After a pause, I calmly said, "No, I just want them to take the oath of office legally." That was in 2019 - more than two years ago.