Editor’s note: This story was updated at 2:11 p.m. Oct. 27 to include a screenshot of the school district’s Facebook post, because it no longer appears on Facebook.
The Gardner Edgerton School District is facing criticism from some educators for a recent Facebook post honoring right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk, coming just weeks after a teacher was subject to an internal investigation for her comments about Kirk following his killing.
The post appeared on the district’s official Facebook account on Oct. 14, which was designated a national day of remembrance marking Kirk’s birthday by a Congressional resolution.
In the post, the district noted Kirk’s “contributions to civic education, faith-based engagement, and youth political awareness.”
It drew mixed reactions from the Gardner Edgerton community. As of earlier this week, the post had garnered more than 360 reactions — nearly equally split between the positive and negative.
No other school district in Johnson County posted about the Charlie Kirk Day of Remembrance, which was also declared by the White House on Oct. 14. In its declaration, the White House referred to Kirk as “a Christian martyr, and a titan of the American conservative movement.”
“This post was created in recognition of a congressional declaration designating a National Day of Remembrance,” said Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Ben Boothe in an email sent to the Post on Oct. 16. “While USD 231 does not acknowledge every day recognized by Congress, we do highlight some, such as our recent post for Juneteenth.”
Since last October, the district has posted more than 45 times about various holidays, appreciation days and awareness campaigns — including National Coaches Day, Earth Day, Black History Month and Down Syndrome Awareness Month.
“Implies that everyone feels that way”
Former board of education member Kristen Schultz woke up the morning of Oct. 14 with messages from three teachers, all sharing the district’s Kirk post with her.
“I just felt it was so wholly inappropriate to use our district resources [on this post],” Schultz said. “When something goes out under our district name, it implies that everyone feels that way. That this is something that’s representative of our entire district.”
She gave examples, like a post about a football game win or elementary school students meeting reading goals.
“But when you post something that most people understand, whether they agree with it or not, as being divisive — that felt very intentional and very tone deaf to everybody who’s been trying to beg this district and their leadership to represent all kids and staff members,” Schultz said.
Some current board members celebrated the post, including Lana Sutton and Jeff Miller, who both heart reacted to the post. Greg Chapman shared his own post on Facebook honoring the late Kirk.
Teacher’s comment about Kirk drew scrutiny
The district’s official Facebook post came just weeks after a Gardner Edgerton High School teacher commented on Facebook in the aftermath of Kirk’s shooting, saying she was, “Saving [her] empathy for the children that got gunned down in Colorado.” (Two students were shot by a classmate at a high school near Denver on the same day Kirk was assassinated).
The teacher also called Kirk a “terrible person” in her comment.
Social media account “Libs of TikTok”, which has 4.5 million followers on X, posted a screenshot of the teacher’s comment, as well as a headshot and her contact information.
The district’s Board of Education and administration denounced the teacher’s comment in a Sept. 19 letter to the community, saying her statements “downplayed and dismissed the horrific decision of someone to murder Charlie Kirk.”
“We call on all members of our staff and community to model civility, respect, and nonviolence,” the letter said. “By working together in this spirit, we can ensure that our schools remain safe spaces for learning and that our students inherit a society that values both freedom and responsibility.”
In the wake of the incident, educators across the district were given a reminder about social media policies, a teacher who wished to remain anonymous told the Post recently.
She said she was concerned about the message the district’s Kirk post sends to teachers — that it’s OK for the district to make their politics known, but not staff — as well as the message it sends to marginalized students and families.
Before his killing, Kirk routinely made provocative statements about race, gender and homosexuality. He made a name for himself touring college campuses, challenging students to debate him on hot-button topics like abortion and immigration.
For conservatives, he has become an icon of free speech since his death, but many of his critics say his rhetoric was demeaning and even dangerous to women, racial minorities and the LGBTQ community.
Schultz agreed with the teacher’s sentiments, that the district has created a double-standard for who can speak out and who can’t.
“I feel like that sends a strong message to our teachers and our students — mostly our staff because I don’t know how much our students pay attention, but they feel it in the classroom,” Schultz said. “A strong message that says, ‘Dependent on what the subject matter is, we [the district] are above policy. We’re not going to apply that equitably across the board.”
Teachers guided by district’s social media policy
While the district social media policies don’t specifically mention political posts, it does lay out several guidelines for teachers’ social media use, including:
- expressing ideas and opinions respectfully,
- avoiding insulting others,
- not using racial slurs, innuendos, obscenity or other inappropriate content
- and avoiding posting, sharing, commenting or engaging in rumors and unsupported information.
“Our goal is to maintain a politically balanced approach,” Boothe said, in response to questions about the Kirk post. “We acknowledge national observances that may carry political or social significance, but we strive to do so across the full spectrum of perspectives. As you can imagine, we have received both positive feedback and concerns about this [Kirk] post — and, in all likelihood, we would have received similar responses had we chosen not to acknowledge the day at all.”
Boothe did not respond to more specific questions about how the district reviews and approves social media posts that are published on its official accounts.
