NC School Employee Fired Over Facebook Posting


We read:

"A school employee has been fired after posting an offensive message on the social networking site Facebook, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools officials say a teacher could be next. School system spokeswoman Nora Carr said the after-school staffer was an "at will" employee who couldn't appeal the firing. He was among seven employees investigated because of Facebook entries.

A kindergarten teacher at Thomasboro Elementary School also could face termination after writing on her Facebook page that she was "teaching in the most ghetto school in Charlotte." The teacher met Monday with Superintendent Peter Gorman, who recommended she be fired. The teacher's attorney, John Gresham, said his client didn't intend to offend her students and was telling the truth about the resegregated school, where only 3 percent of students are white and 93 percent qualify for lunch subsidies to low-income families.

Gresham said if the teacher is fired, she will be entitled to a hearing by a case manager and an appeal to the school board. He said the school system also cited photos of her at a bachelorette party.

Carr, the district spokeswoman, also said a high school special education teacher was suspended after writing on her site, "I hate my students." CMS is also recommending that teacher be fired. Carr said four other employees have received lesser punishments for photos or comments....

The Facebook issues have become a hot topic among many teachers. Mary McCrary, who heads the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators, said teachers shouldn't be punished for what they write on private Web pages....

Carr said the issue isn't free speech but whether anything a teacher does damages their reputation. "Does it impede or impact your ability in a negative way to do your job?

Source

I agree with the criterion ""Does it impede or impact your ability in a negative way to do your job?" but I see no sign that that was the actual criterion used above.

Posted by John Ray.