RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond Public Schools (RPS) said it was aware of a social media post allegedly made by a Huguenot High School educator following Saturday's attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
The post, which was screenshotted and shared with CBS 6 said, "too bad he missed the mark.”
While RPS would not publicly comment on the situation, citing it as a personnel matter, CBS 6 obtained an internal email Richmond Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras sent to the Richmond School Board about the post on Monday.
That email read, "at this time, the posting is protected speech under the First Amendment. If the posting were to ultimately impede the division’s ability to effectively educate children (e.g., if a student's family objected to the student being in her class), the analysis could change."
Kamras added that since school was out of session for the summer, it would be difficult to determine the post's impact on education.
Kamras then issued a message in a public newsletter on Monday in which he said RPS rejected all violence, and referred to the shooting as "abhorrent" and "antithetical to everything we stand for."
"Just because the First Amendment allows us to say almost anything in the public square, it doesn't mean we ought to. Let's be judicious with our words – our students are listening. Now, more than ever, is the time to 'Go high,'" his statement said.
Richmond School Board policies do not specifically address employee social media conduct, but RPS' personnel statement of ethics said staff shall “maintain personal and professional behaviors that demonstrate positive role modeling” and should “refrain from discourse and actions” that “compromise the professional standards of Richmond Public Schools.”
School board member Garrett Sawyer, who represents Huguenot High School, said the board was working with Kamras to address the matter and determine whether any school board policies applied to this situation.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
