RIVERSIDE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) – A high school guidance counselor's “Get over yourselves” Facebook comment to students who boycotted school to protest President Trump’s immigration policy appears to have cost her her job.
It all took place in a thread that spawned from a fellow teacher’s Facebook post as Patricia Crawford’s stance on the boycott led to at least 50 complaints to the Jurupa Unified School District in Southern California.
On Aug. 11, the Fourth Appellate District affirmed her firing, which Jurupa justified as calling her conduct “immoral” and claiming she is “evidently unfit for service.”
“Crawford’s conduct gained significant notoriety, including nationwide media attention, which negatively affected her relationship with RHS’s students, administration and community,” says the decision, authored by Justice Carol Codrington.
“Given the public outcry and the loss of confidence in her abilities as a counselor among RHS students, parents and administrators, it is ‘evident that (Crawford’s) conduct was detrimental to the mission and functions of (her) employer.’”
In February 2017, students at Rubidoux High School protested immigration policy by staging “A Day Without Immigrants.” The decision notes that the school is about 90% Hispanic/Latino, and about a quarter of students boycotted school that day.
One teacher, Geoffrey Greer, went to Facebook to post his thoughts, which included: “As for the public school system, having my class size reduced by 50% all day long only served to SUPPORT Trump’s initiatives and prove how much better things might be without all this overcrowding.”
“Best school day ever,” he concluded.
Crawford commented in support, claiming the cafeteria was much cleaner, there was less traffic on the roads and no discipline issues. She ended her post “More, please.”
When students got involved in the thread to show disappointment in the staff’s perspective, Crawford continued posting. Eventually, she wrote: “And I’m the great-granddaughter of immigrants. I care. But this isn’t the way to go about effecting change. My post was meant to be snarky. Get over yourselves.”
The decision says this led to several critical instant messages, some of which were threatening. Screenshots were taken of the comment and shared on Facebook and Twitter.
She tried to explain the comments in an email to her principal the next morning, stating she subsequently deleted her Facebook account.
“Since after the election, I can no longer eat lunch in the staff lounge because of the anti-Caucasian conversations,” she wrote. She added that she felt her comments were taken out of context but because of the threats she received, she didn’t feel safe going into work.
Greer, Crawford and other staff who commented were put on administrative leave. More than 250 email complaints were sent to the school district, with at least 50 specifically mentioning Crawford.
To add more drama, someone vandalized the campus, writing “F--- YOU” and “F--- YOUR OPINION” on Greer’s and another teacher’s classrooms. More than 300 students staged a walkout to protest the teachers’ comments on the post.
A public hearing on the comments became a media event. Teachers scheduled lessons to address the comments.
Ultimately, in May 2017, Crawford was put on paid leave and was told she was about to get fired. She appealed to the district’s Commission on Professional Competence.
Her firing was affirmed by the CPC after a hearing in which she failed to explain her actions or take ownership for them, the court wrote.