An elementary college instructor who reportedly shared a racist picture in a bunch chat with colleagues has been positioned on administrative depart because the Lengthy Seaside Unified College District investigates the matter.
John Solomon, a fourth- and fifth-grade instructor at MacArthur Elementary College, is being investigated for allegedly sharing an illustration of a youngsters’s ankle monitor on a Black youngster and joking the varsity might use these for its “runners,” a nickname for particular schooling college students susceptible to wandering off, in line with the Lengthy Seaside Put up.
On Thursday, the Lengthy Seaside Unified College District stated it doesn’t “condone conduct that’s disrespectful, discriminatory, or dangerous.”
“This matter is beneath investigation, and the worker has been positioned on administrative depart pending the end result,” the district stated in an announcement. “Personnel issues are confidential, so we can not touch upon particular person worker conditions.”
The picture was shared in a bunch chat among the many academics union bargaining staff and was then included in an inner investigation performed by the academics union, in line with the Lengthy Seaside Put up. Somebody within the group chat responded to Solomon’s textual content after he shared it and stated, “That picture is troublesome on many ranges.”
Solomon allegedly responded, “Yeah. I see that.”
However he has denied sending the picture and claimed that his cellphone was hacked, in line with the inner investigation, the Put up reported.
Solomon declined to remark when contacted by The Occasions by way of electronic mail. The Academics Assn. of Lengthy Seaside didn’t reply for a standing replace on whether or not Solomon has stepped down from his position with the union. The college district didn’t reveal how lengthy Solomon has labored as an educator in Lengthy Seaside or when the district turned conscious of the incident.
The district’s determination to position Solomon on administrative depart arrives after a public outcry and requires Solomon’s resignation.
In an announcement, Lengthy Seaside Mayor Rex Richardson’s workplace stated he and a bunch of elected officers “are outraged {that a} member of the Academics Affiliation of Lengthy Seaside’s Government Board, John Solomon, shared a racist and ableist message with TALB’s negotiations committee. Such conduct is unacceptable, dangerous to Black college students and college students with disabilities, and unworthy of any chief in schooling.”
The assertion was co-signed by Councilmembers Tunua Thrash-Ntuk, Joni Ricks-Oddie, Lengthy Seaside Unified College Board Member Erik Miller and Lengthy Seaside Metropolis School board members Uduak-Joe Ntuk and Ennette Morton.
On Tuesday, California State Sen. Lena Gonzalez issued a public assertion calling for an intensive investigation by the varsity district.
“Racist disparaging feedback about any youngster in our Lengthy Seaside faculties ought to by no means be tolerated,” she stated. “However studying in regards to the racist textual content and photograph shared by an LBUSD instructor, who is meant to have the belief of colleagues, college students and oldsters, is horrendous.”
Gonzalez’s remark got here after it was not instantly unclear whether or not the district would conduct its personal investigation into the matter. The Lengthy Seaside Put up reported that the district did not initially probe the allegations made in opposition to Solomon, who remained on the job till not too long ago.
Academics inside the district have additionally requested for Solomon to be ousted from his place as a union member by way of a recall marketing campaign. The hassle to take away Solomon began over the summer time and academics are sharing petitions at faculties.
