Brainerd Area News

Brainerd Middle School Teacher Under Investigation For Racial Facebook Posts

forestview
Credit: ISD 181 website

A visual arts teacher at Forestview Middle School in Brainerd is under investigation for racial posts she made on her personal Facebook page over the weekend.

Kara Hall posted the following regarding country-wide protests over the murder of George Floyd.

“Are you seeing what the blacks people are doing during this protest?”

“Maybe you should be out there telling them to stop burning businesses if they are such good people? I know all I see are scary, awful blacks robbing businesses that don’t deserve this. They are making it worse for themselves.”

Credit: Instagram

“The creepy, destructive, violent blacks we are all across America watching need to be put in jail. I watch black guys carry out cases of whiskey while they smile and laugh-that’s not ok and that’s not protesting-that’s opportunistic, theft and illegal. I don’t see whites doing that in Grand Forks tonight! Wake Up!”

I.s.d 181 Superintendent Laine Larson said that they began receiving messages from parents and members of the community on Sunday night.

The official statement from the school district:

“The administration of Brainerd Public Schools has been made aware of an employee’s social media activity discussing recent events in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd.

The District does not support or endorse in any way the views expressed in the social media posts that have been brought to the District’s attention.

While the District supports and respects free speech, the social media posts in question contain inaccurate, disrespectful, and divisive statements about the race of individuals who have engaged in looting and other destructive conduct in the Twin Cities.

The overall tenor and content of the posts is contrary to the basic educational mission of the District and is inconsistent with the District’s efforts to create a welcoming and supportive environment for students of all backgrounds.

The District is currently working with legal counsel from the Twin Cities to conduct an independent and on-site investigation regarding the concerns raised.

We cannot comment further on this situation for data privacy reasons.”

A Change.org petition for her firing was started and has garnered nearly 4,000 signatures as of early Wednesday morning.