Carroll trustees take no action on teacher reprimand; unrest swirls over Holocaust remark

Parents, teachers and students pleaded with Carroll school trustees on Monday to reverse a previous vote to reprimand a fourth grade teacher after a parent filed a grievance alleging that her daughter was bullied after she brought home an anti-racist book from the classroom.

On Oct. 4, trustees voted 3-2 to request that administrators place a reprimand letter in Rickie Farah’s personnel file although officials found no wrongdoing.

After an executive session lasting almost two hours, trustees took no action on the reprimand.

Barbara Johnson, whose grandson was a student in Farah’s class, told trustees that he got an inspiring letter encouraging him about his writing.

“Like many others in this town, I read the book ‘This Book is Anti-Racist’ (the book that was in Farah’s classroom); I wasn’t offended,” she said. “Teachers don’t feel supported, that’s not what we want.”

Before the meeting started, board president Michelle Moore said, “I understand that there is confusion and anger and perhaps fear. We can’t rewind the past couple of weeks ...”

Teachers have been learning about new legal regulations, Moore said.

“We as a district must work together to learn how we apply the law,” she said.

Lindsey Garcia, a teacher in the school district, told trustees that the Oct. 4 vote to reprimand Farah left teachers feeling scared and insecure.

“The Oct. 4 actions of the board caused me confusion and caused me to lose faith,” she said.

Melody Anderson, another teacher, said her job is all about treating every child with love and respect.

“I feel betrayed and unsupported by our school board after Oct. 4. Please help me feel supported again,” she said.

Criticism over Holocaust instruction continues

Speakers also sharply criticized the district over an administrator’s statement during a teacher training session that if they had books in their classrooms about the Holocaust, they needed to include books with opposing views.

Last week, a teacher recorded the training session about a new law requiring teachers to present different perspectives when teaching about widely debated and controversial issues that will take effect in December and gave the audio recording to NBC News.

Late Thursday, superintendent Lane Ledbetter sent an email to parents apologizing about the “online story.”

He told parents that the comments were in no way meant to convey that the Holocaust was anything less than a terrible event in history.

He also said the district recognizes that there are not two sides to the Holocaust and that the district will work to add clarity for their teachers.

The training was held to provide information about House Bill 3979, which takes effect in December. The law requires teachers to present different perspectives when teaching about widely debated and controversial issues.

Jennifer Hough said the school district needs to apologize for the remarks about the Holocaust.

“I stand with our Jewish community and our neighbors,” Hough said. “They deserve an apology from our district where we are today lies directly on our leadership. Our teachers and staff are scared and feel unsupported.”

Jake Burman, who described how he was bullied in school because he is Jewish, thanked Ledbetter for using clear language.

“Last week’s occurrence was surely a mistake,” he said. “There are not two sides to the Holocaust and not two sides to slavery.”

Many also spoke in support of Gina Petty, the curriculum director who made the statement about the Holocaust, saying she made a mistake and that she is the “glue” who holds the district together.

Gloria Paul, a parent who worked with Petty on volunteer projects, said she believes Petty was thrown under the bus.

“She always makes herself available. She has a high moral character, and I am proud to call her a good friend,” Paul said.