Free speech or government overreach? Charlie Kirk posts spark debate at School Board meeting

Tensions flared Thursday evening over freedom of speech and teacher conduct at a packed Clark County School Board meeting.

Over 30 people spoke during the meeting’s public comment session about the Clark County School District’s recent decision against some teachers who made social media posts related to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

One mother, Sarah McGahan, said she unenrolled her son from the school district on Monday in part because the district did not immediately fire the teachers who purportedly made anti-Kirk posts.

“These teachers, and sadly others, have made it abundantly clear they are not fit to be in a classroom,” McGahan said. “On behalf of those children, however, who are still in your care … do the right thing.”

Superintendent Jhone Ebert announced on Sept. 15 that some teachers were no longer assigned to classrooms over posts about Kirk’s death that caused “substantial disruption” to the school district. The school district has said, due to privacy laws, it cannot comment on how many educators were impacted by this decision.

The school district also has not named the teachers who were reassigned, nor have district officials divulged or confirmed the specific social media posts that led to the district taking action.

Clark County Education Association executive director John Vellardita previously said the union would investigate the situation and had no comment on the school district’s decision until its investigation was complete.

At least four Facebook accounts with the names of purported school district educators made social media posts and comments in the wake of Kirk’s assassination that drew ire online from the conservative parental rights groups Moms for Liberty and My Children’s Advocate.

Both organizations have called for the teachers to be fired over their social media comments. Trustees Lydia Dominguez and Lorena Biassotti were previously involved in Moms for Liberty before joining the School Board, and Biassotti is associated with My Children’s Advocate.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal in an email Friday asked the school district to confirm whether the posts purportedly made by four educators were posts that resulted in the district reassigning teachers. The district declined to confirm if the posts came from social media accounts that belonged to teachers, but said in the email that the district does employ educators who have the same names as those from which the posts purportedly originated.

When asked about whether the educators were disciplined, a district spokesperson said, “We cannot comment on personnel matters.”

Lively free speech debate

Throughout the evening, community members went back and forth arguing their case against the action taken by the school district. Some urged the school district to reverse its decision, saying that teachers shouldn’t be punished for their out-of-classroom speech, while others called on the school district to go further and fire the teachers who have already been disciplined for their conduct.

Because so many people wanted to speak, School Board President Irene Bustamante Adams announced that each speaker’s time allotment would be shortened to two minutes — down from the standard three minutes.

Vicki Kreidel, former president of the National Education Association of Southern Nevada, said the school district lacks clear guidelines about personal social media posts, which made it unfair for the district to take action against the teachers. In her years as a teacher, she said she had never seen someone be disciplined over personal social media posts that were political.

“I’m not saying that the posts I saw were in good taste … but it does strike me as important that none of us have been given specific guidance on what we are or aren’t allowed to post on our personal social media,” Kreidel said. “If we’re not supposed to cross certain lines, wouldn’t it make sense that we’re aware of what they are?”

Audience members either snapped in agreement or displayed a thumbs-down gesture to indicate disagreement when somebody was speaking during the nearly 90-minute public comment period. At times, Bustamante Adams scolded the audience for verbally interrupting speakers.

Erin Phillips, CEO of parental rights group Power2Parent, thanked Ebert for her action to remove some teachers from classrooms but urged the school district to “finish the job” and fire them from their positions.

“Free speech is a fundamental right. These teachers are free to say whatever they want. But they are not entitled to whatever job they want, especially when their words prove them unfit for the responsibility of teaching children,” Phillips said.

One man, Stephen Felgar, told the School Board that “what these teachers did was bad, but what you’re doing is worse.” He called disciplining teachers over their purported posts “un-American.”

“You’re the government, and the government has no business suppressing free speech,” Felgar said.

Some at the meeting who supported disciplining the teachers wore white buttons reading “I am Charlie” pinned on their shirts. Biassotti wore a white T-shirt depicting an outline drawing of Kirk along with a Bible verse.

Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253.