Idaho district apologizing, investigating after teachers dress as border wall for Halloween

Teachers and other workers at the Middleton School District in Idaho are under investigation for Halloween costumes the district superintendent calls "clearly insensitive and inappropriate." Some staffers wore stereotypical Mexican costumes and others came as portions of a border wall. less Teachers and other workers at the Middleton School District in Idaho are under investigation for Halloween costumes the district superintendent calls "clearly insensitive and inappropriate." Some staffers wore ... more Photo: Screenshot Via Facebook Photo: Screenshot Via Facebook Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Idaho district apologizing, investigating after teachers dress as border wall for Halloween 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Teachers and other staffers working at Middleton Heights Elementary School in Middleton, Idaho are under investigation by the school district after wearing Halloween costumes to class that Superintendent Josh Middleton called "clearly insensitive and inappropriate."

As local station KTVB reports, two since-deleted photos initially posted to the school district's Facebook page depict a group of staffers in the problematic costumes. In one, six people are holding portions of cardboard ostensibly painted to look like a border wall, with text reading "Make America Great Again." In the other, seven staffers wear ponchos, sombreros and fake mustaches.

The superintendent was made aware of the costumes on Thursday evening, when a parent contacted him. On Friday morning, Superintendent Middleton posted a Facebook Live video addressing the incident.

"I was shown those photos and was deeply troubled by the decision by our staff members to wear those costumes that are clearly insensitive and inappropriate," Middleton said. "Our time right now is going to be devoted to investigating those events and those poor decisions that were made.

"We are better than this," he continued. "We embrace all students. We have a responsibility to teach and reach all students, period."

Approximately 9.5 percent of Middleton's 7,400 population is Hispanic or Latino, according to KTVB.

Superintendent Middleton apologized for the incident and stated that the district was already looking into the ordeal. He did not identify the staffers in the photo, or state that those in the photos would be penalized.

The post had over 900 comments as of noon on Friday, many of them urging him to fire or otherwise discipline the educators.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.

