After a teacher tweeted damning posts about a student, accusing him of participating in what she called a "Hitler Youth" event, the superintendent in the district where she works has asked the school board to fire her.
Thomas Tucker, superintendent of Douglas County Schools in Colorado, requested that teacher Michelle Grissom be dismissed. She has been on administrative leave since January 20, reported KDVR TV on Tuesday.
Reportedly, Grissom falsely accused a student in Kentucky of being involved in a controversial video of teens engaging with Native Americans in Washington, D.C. In tweets, Grissom referred to the student by name and called him a "Hitler Youth," as the Highlands Ranch Herald reported.
However, the student was not in Washington, D.C., at the time of the rally.
"I understand that many in the community have strong opinions regarding Ms. Grissom and the circumstances giving rise to my recommendation," Tucker told KDVR TV. "The District respects those opinions. However, to ensure that the process complies with Colorado law, while the dismissal process is ongoing, Douglas County School District will not provide further comment."
It's unclear why Grissom tweeted about a student in another state or why she believed he was allegedly a part of the group she mentioned.
Grissom teaches seventh grade at Mountain Ridge Middle School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.
However, KDVR TV reported that Grissom apologized for the tweets and that according to law, she is within her rights to request a hearing to appeal the dismissal process.
In response, a district spokesperson said that "the DCSD Board of Education will be the final judge as to whether Ms. Grissom is retained or dismissed."
To complicate the issue, some parents who want Grissom fired have complained about that the school board has not allowed them to comment on the issue at one of its public meetings. About two dozen parents held a rally before Tuesday's meeting to demand the board take action against Grissom.
But the board has a policy that limits public comment to items already posted on the agenda, reported KDVR.
"This school board says you cannot speak to us until you've gone to the teacher, the principal until you've gone to the superintendent," Douglas County resident and former Colorado State Senator Ted Harvey told the television station.
Harvey said when he and several other parents signed up to speak at one of the public school board meetings in January, trustees denied their request to speak.
"They were telling most people they couldn't speak at all because we weren't speaking on the topic that they wanted us to talk about," said parent Brad Wann. "The system in which to get your voice across is broken and it's time that we as citizens stand up and do the right thing."
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