Jurupa school officials are bracing for more student walkouts Tuesday, Jan. 21, days after social media posts by Rubidoux High educators that many said mocked immigrants prompted about 150 youths to leave campus.

Jurupa Unified School District officials are responding to the “very likely” possibility of additional walkouts at middle and high schools Tuesday, Superintendent Elliott Duchon said Monday.

“It seems to be organized and the information is being widely distributed” on social media, Duchon said.

The Facebook thread that started Thursday, Feb. 16, involved at least five teachers and one counselor who commented on students who skipped school for the national “A Day Without Immigrants” boycott.

Social science teacher Geoffrey Greer started the conversation by writing that having 50 percent fewer students proved “how much better things might be without all this overcrowding.” He added that students who protested used the occasion “as an excuse to lazy/and or get drunk. Best school day ever.”

Hours later, Greer acknowledged in another Facebook post that the comments “infuriated a great many people” and apologized for the “harsh tone and hurtful structure of the previous message.”

Art teacher Robin Riggle, science teacher Allen Umbarger, agriculture teacher Rhonda Fuller and science teacher Chuck Baugh responded to Greer’s initial post.

Guidance counselor Patricia Crawford added that “the cafeteria was much cleaner after lunch” and there were “no discipline issues. More please.”

The six educators involved in the incident are on paid leave and the district is investigating, Duchon said.

“I can’t tell you where that will lead,” Duchon said.

After hearing plans of more walkouts, the district sent recorded phone messages to parents Sunday, Feb. 18, and Monday, Feb. 19, warning them of the consequences of skipping school.

“To keep peace and order,” employees will take pictures and videos of students trying to leave campus or break school rules. There will be an increased police presence in and around schools, states a letter to parents posted in English and Spanish on the district’s website.

Walking out could lead to suspension, expulsion, citations for truancy, fines for parents, arrests and loss of privileges, the letter says.

Possible penalties for leaving campus could include prom, athletic events, participation on athletic teams and graduation, the letter states. Participating in walkouts could negatively affect students’ futures, including their ability to attend college, join the military or get a job, the letter states.

Students will be allowed to pick up their lunch in groups and return to their classrooms to eat. Only people with official business will be allowed on campus, the letter states.

If there is a walk out, students who don’t immediately return to class will be marked truant and “consequences will follow,” the letter states.

Students who left campus during lunch at Rubidoux High on Friday weren’t disciplined, Duchon said.

“We are making it very clear to kids they should not walk out,” he said. “I don’t know how clear that was on Friday.”

Duchon said graffiti appeared in two places at Rubidoux High on Friday, including one marking on Greer’s classroom. Both were reported to Riverside County sheriff’s officials.

Duchon said he didn’t know anything about graffiti with the words “Kill Trump” on a block wall across the street from campus. It had been painted over by Monday afternoon.

Riverside County sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Armando Munoz said he had no details on the graffiti Monday because offices were closed because of the holiday.

Rubidoux High parent Leslie Altamirano said she may keep her 17-year-old daughter, Bernice Meza, home on Tuesday.

While Altamirano doesn’t agree with students walking off campus, she doesn’t like how the district is handling the situation.

Meza was peacefully protesting Friday when she was called into the office and yelled at for giving a friend’s phone number to a reporter, Altamirano said.

“I don’t like the idea of them confining them and locking them down and taking pictures,” Altamirano said. “They’re demonizing these kids for the actions of a few. Not all the kids walked out and did these things. They’re trying to practice their democratic rights.”

Duchon said the measures aren’t excessive.

“This is not being done because they don’t have a right to free expression, but because it endangers them,” he said. “If I give their child permission to walk out in the middle of the street, I take responsibility for their safety in a dangerous situation.”