By SHAYLA ESCUDERO/Lincoln Chronicle
The Taft High School teacher placed on administrative leave for his comments about the death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk is back in the classroom following a four-week long investigation.
Last month, a local Republican organization, parents and community members pressured the Lincoln County School District to fire high school social studies teacher Trent Adams for a comment he made online about the death of Kirk, who was shot and killed Sept. 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University.
In the days after Kirk’s death, efforts took shape online to highlight and punish people with potentially negative comments about Kirk’s death, including websites that collected addresses and profiles. Teachers across the country were also caught in the crosshairs – placed on administrative leave or fired for their comments.
Adams made a comment on Facebook that said, “He did deserve to die, he was a fascist.” It was copied and shared widely online in several community Facebook pages. In the days that followed, dozens of community members and parents called and emailed the school board members, superintendent Majalise Tolan and Taft principal Nick Lupo. The local organization Lincoln County Republicans encouraged members to email school officials, file complaints and show up at the next board meeting.
The district placed Adams on administrative leave and opened an investigation mid-September. Adams went to court to get temporary protective orders for him and his wife after receiving online threats from a former student. School officials were flooded with inquiries both from people hoping to see Adams fired and those advocating for his reinstatement.
Investigation ends
The investigation concluded last week and Adams returned to the classroom Monday, Oct. 13. Community members who inquired about the investigation received a statement from Lupo.
“Thank you for reaching out and taking the time to share your concerns with us. We value the feedback from our community and take these matters seriously. Ensuring a safe and supportive school environment for all students, staff and community members is our top priority, and we recognize that public employees do have a responsibility to present themselves in a manner that builds the confidence of staff, students and the public in the Lincoln County School District,” Lupo said.
“With that said, teachers, like all private citizens, have the right to express their personal opinions, on their own time, and on their own personal platforms. When employees exercise their First Amendment speech rights as private citizens, on their own time, the district has limited authority to regulate that personal expression.”“We understand that the nature of the post, which addresses a controversial public topic, has caused strong reactions within our student body, among parents, and across the community. The district has completed an investigation into the concerns raised, in consultation with legal counsel. While we’re unable to provide information regarding individual personnel matters, please know this matter was resolved in accordance with district policy, as well as state and federal law. Moving forward, the Lincoln County School District will continue to focus on providing quality education to each student and to uphold high professional standards for all employees in their role as educators.”
More than a dozen community members – many wearing Charlie Kirk t-shirts came to the Tuesday, Oct. 14 school board meeting intending to express their grievances. The meeting fell on Kirk’s birthday and many in the crowd wore shirts that read “A true patriot” with Kirk’s photo over an American Flag. Many also were members of the Hilltop Patriots, a conservative group based in Lincoln City.
Before public comment began, board chair Peter Vince told the crowd that public comment wasn’t an appropriate place to talk about district staff. Tolan clarified that commenters could speak about the topic but not a specific staff member.
“Now, many parents are upset about this, and his views spilled over into the classroom,” said Lincoln City resident Dan Porter. “We were actually contacted by a former student from last year who said that he didn’t agree with his viewpoint.”
Vince said that the comment was starting to get into personnel matters and recommended he and other audience members instead speak with the superintendent after the meeting. Many stayed after the meeting to speak with Tolan and Tiana DeVries, deputy superintendent of human resources.
The school district previously said it follows a complaint process that starts at the teacher or employee level before reaching the principal or supervisor to be resolved. If they are still not able to reach a resolution the complaint will go to the superintendent, and lastly, the school board to issue a decision.
In the landmark 1968 decision, Pickering v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that teachers and other public school employees retain their First Amendment rights to comment or reflect on issues of public concern. However, they can face consequences for speech that is so inflammatory it interferes with the learning environment and their ability to be effective workers.
When the Lincoln Chronicle reached out to the school district with questions about the investigation, the district shared the statement given to community members. Adams did not respond to requests for comment.
- Shayla Escudero covers Lincoln County government, Newport, education, housing and social services for Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at Shayla@LincolnChronicle.org
Absolutely gutless response to a horrific comment. What made many of us leave our beloved state was the fact so many new to Oregon changed it so radically. I cry inside to see how far this state has fallen into debt that helps those not willing to help themselves and see the harm to their very own children in their plight to become a Central California caliphate.
I was not a fan of Charlie Kirk. I found much of his rhetoric to be hateful and bigoted – Not something that a man who claims to be a Christian should be saying and doing but that said, murder is always wrong no matter what and I did find this teachers remarks very distasteful.
That said, I am puzzled by all of the angst against this teacher and I wonder just where was all that angst when people came out in droves on social media and made fun of Nancy Pelosi’s husband when he was beaten? Where was all of the outrage against those who posted memes and gifs when Melissa Hortman and her husband were murdered in their home and John Hoffman and his wife were seriously injured by the same gunman? Where were they when Josh Shapiro’s house was set on fire? Were people fired from their jobs then when they gleefully posted all those MEMEs and GIFs? Where was the outrage then?
So if murder is wrong – which it IS then isn’t it wrong for EVERYONE? But really what this entire thing does is to point out how messed up as a Nation we have all become when we pick and choose who and what to be outraged over by our political or religious beliefs rather than any sense of what is right and what is wrong.
Kirk was a media personality and a political activist not a saint. Melissa Hortman and the others mentioned here were politicians and spouses of politicians and were human beings not saints. The murder of one is just as wrong as the other and I find any remark that states “He did deserve to die”… wrong no matter who it is directed to. Perhaps Mr. Adams does need to reflect on what he said. But if he does then also so do many others who have done the same with the other’s mentioned here.
Perhaps what this thing with Mr. Adams has pointed out is that the problem is “us” and maybe all of us need to step back and ask ourselves who we are becoming.
Thank you Patricia for a very reasonable and even-handed post. I hope I live long enough to see this country put all the hate and finger-pointing behind us.
Interesting. My feelings are the opposite of Mr. Martin’s. I live on the Oregon Coast because there is more of an attempt to live by the teachings of Christ~ not the divisive and hateful Old Testament condemnation of homosexuals and adulterers, etc., which parallels the practices of Islam and orthodox Judaism, but the New Testament virtues of love, charity, and compassion for all people, as Christ exemplified. As a child in school, I repeated the Pledge of Allegiance… one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all. Just as in the New Testament, there are no qualifying conditions for the word, “all.”
Selfish people find it easy to find reasons to not share their good fortune. When I was younger I resented “my tax dollars” supporting “shiftless slackers” but as I grew in experience, I realized how quickly even a hard-working person can slip into overwhelming poverty. Our American system is obviously flawed to create so many homeless amongst us. It is not the fault of homosexuals or immigrants, as Kirk and others of his ilk would have us believe. If suddenly there were no more homosexuals or immigrants in America, our nation would still be experiencing unprecedented homelessness and poverty. Point the finger of blame at the rich and powerful who are more focused on perpetuating their wealth and erecting monuments to themselves than on supporting people who are simply trying to live and work in peace. What happened to that promise of lower grocery bills?
Don’t people who get disgusted with all the homeless “slackers” in California realize that it’s a de facto situation? Isn’t it obvious that there are more unfortunates in regions where there is a temperate climate? When you live in a tent, would you rather winter in Wyoming or San Francisco? I mean, like, big doh [in caps].
I wouldn’t expect a logical response from our Lincoln County school officials. After all we are last in the state for education standards and testing. If the school district is allowing him back in the school room, at very least they should place a monitor in the classroom to see exactly what this individual is teaching.
I don’t believe we have any room in any of our schools for teachers or students saying things like certain people “Deserve to Die” or assuming because you have a different belief than theirs that you would decide that they are fascist. For anyone to express who should live or who should die has serious problems of their own. We don’t need teachers to express their politics or their views on sexuality in the classroom, they simply need to teach children and teens reading, math, history, science, let them teach compassion, and leave all their personal beliefs at home. Kids are removed from school for calling names that are racist yet a teacher can say something like “someone deserves to die” and they are still teaching. Ridiculous.
I love all these defenders of hate monger Charlie Kirk’s freedom of speech refusing to recognize the teacher has the same exact rights to express his views when he is away from work and on his own time.
Teachers may have “the same exact rights” under the First Amendment to express views when away from work and on their own time. But that doesn’t prevent their employer, such as a school district, from disciplining them, up to and including dismissal, if their social media posts, while on or off duty, disrupt the school environment, as defined under school district policy. Such disciplinary action has been upheld by federal appellate court decisions.