A Texas teacher thought she was using Twitter to discreetly complain about undocumented immigrants. Instead, she was very publicly writing bigoted messages on the social media platform, and she may lose her job over it.
Since at least May 17, in a now shut down Twitter account, Georgia Clark, a high school English teacher in Fort Worth, complained about the undocumented community. “Mr. President, Fort Worth Independent School District is loaded with illegal students from Mexico,” she wrote. “Anything you can do to remove the illegals from Fort Worth would be greatly appreciated.”
Clark also told him that she needed “protection from recrimination” because Texas “will not protect whistleblowers.” In another, she shared her phone numbers and verified that her name was Georgia Clark. All the while she spouted her offensive and racist ideas, she believed she had privately sent these messages to President Donald Trump. But the tweets have gotten her in trouble, with parents and others speaking out against her actions.
On May 29, she was placed on administrative leave with pay, and today, a district board meeting will determine if she’ll lose her job, according to The Washington Post.
Clark has worked in the district since 1998 and has a history of saying derogatory comments, sometimes about students’ ethnicities. Recently, when a student asked to go to the restroom, Clark reportedly told them to “show me your papers that are saying you are legal.” While Clark has denied she made the comment, another student confirmed it did happen. But there are other instances where she made inappropriate comments.
As many wonder how someone like Clark has remained in this position for years, especially in a heavily Latino community, the school district administration has said it will continue working to make the environment inclusive.
“Schools should be a safe place for our children and for our families,” said school board president, Jacinto “Cinto” Ramos Jr. in a statement. “That has been and will continue to be our message to children — and to their families. Every child in our District is welcome.”
