Frenship ISD said Thursday that the teacher who wrote a controversial Facebook post will lose her job. She was not mentioned by name in the statement but she had been previously identified as Karen Fitzgibbons, a teacher at Bennett Elementary School.
In response to the resignation of a McKinney Police officer accused of excessive force, Fitzgibbons posted on Facebook, “This officer should not have to resign.”
She then wrote, “The blacks are the ones causing the problems and this ‘racial tension.'”
“I’m almost to the point of wanting them all segregated on one side of town so they can hurt each other and leave the innocent people alone,” Fitzgibbons also said. The post ended with hashtags including #imnotracist.
“This recent conduct was unacceptable,” Frenship said in a written statement. “Frenship ISD hopes communities, parents and students understand that these remarks do not reflect the views of our district, teachers and staff.”
We originally reported that Fitzgibbons was fired. However, after an open records request, Frenship had to clarify. A spokesman for Frenship said the process of terminating Fitzgibbons was started on Thursday. Because it is a process it will take time, Frenship said.
The spokesman insisted that Fitzgibbons will not be with the district for the upcoming school year.
The full text of the Frenship statement is posted below:
On Wednesday afternoon, Frenship Independent School District was made aware of a statement posted on a Facebook page by a Frenship ISD employee earlier this week.
Frenship ISD is deeply disappointed in the thoughtlessness conveyed by this employee’s post. We find these statements to be extremely offensive, insensitive, and disrespectful to our Frenship community and citizens everywhere. These comments in no way represent the educational environment we have created for our students.
The employee whose account is responsible for the post will be relieved of her teaching duties at Frenship ISD.
We hold our employees responsible for their public conduct even when they are not on active duty as district employees. Employees are held to the same professional standards in their public use of electronic media as they are for any other public conduct. This recent conduct was unacceptable.
Frenship ISD hopes communities, parents and students understand that these remarks do not reflect the views of our district, teachers and staff.