Texas Teacher Fired for Twitter Posts Reporting ‘Illegal Students’

A Texas school board has voted to fire a teacher who sent Twitter posts to President Donald Trump claiming that her school had been overrun by illegal immigrants.

Georgia Clark has been fired “immediately” from the Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD), according to a Sept. 17 statement from the board.

Board approves motion by Rep Ashley Paz to terminate the continuing contract of Georgia Clark immediately. Board has adjourned. — Fort Worth ISD (@FortWorthISD) September 17, 2019

Clark’s dismissal came with an 8-0 vote by the board, the Star-Telegram reported, and was preceded by months of administrative and legal wrangling sparked by complaints about the nature of her Twitter posts.

“We made a decision today to uphold the recommendation from the superintendent and administration,” said FWISD president Jacinto “Cinto” Ramos Jr., according to the Telegram. “We felt there was good cause to terminate the contract of Ms. Georgia Clark.”

‘Loaded With Illegal Students’

Preceding Clark’s termination was a backlash caused by a string of statements addressed to President Trump from her now-deleted Twitter account @Rebecca1939.

According to CBS DFW, one of the messages said: “Mr. President, Fort Worth Independent School District is loaded with illegal students from Mexico. Carter-Riverside High School has been taken over by them. Drug dealers are on our campus and nothing was done to them.”

“Anything you can do to remove the illegals from Fort Worth would be greatly appreciated,” she wrote in another post, The Washington Post reported.

“Do you have someone who has looked at the crime statistics across our great nation and documented the number of time [sic] an illegal immigrant has committed an act of robbery or murder on American citizens?” she also wrote, according to the Post.

District says Clark admitted to writing “FW ISD is loaded with illegal students from Mexico. Carter-Riverside HS has been taken over by them” & “I really do need a contact here in FW who should be actively investigating & removing illegals that are in the public school system” pic.twitter.com/BO2kQLF3pK — Erin Jones (@erinjonesnews) June 4, 2019

The Daily Mail reported that Clark had been the subject of controversy for reasons other than her posts on Twitter.

In one incident, she is said to have asked a student to “show me your papers that are saying you are legal.” In another, she was accused of accused of referring to a group of students as “little Mexico” and calling another “white bread.”

MSN reported that at one of the FWISD meetings, one of Clark’s former students said she had segregated her classroom, seating Hispanics and African American students in the back and white students in the front.

‘Dignity and Respect’

In May, Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Kent P. Scribner addressed Clark’s controversial Twitter posts on Facebook.

“In the past 24 hours, there has been much talk in the news and on the internet about the use of social media by our staff,” Scribner wrote. “Our mission is to prepare ALL students for success in college, career, and community leadership. Let me reiterate our commitment that every child in the District is welcome and is to be treated with dignity and respect. As we conclude the school year this Friday, please know we take this promise very seriously and your child’s safety and well-being are always our number one priority.”

In June, the board voted unanimously to fire Clark, but last week tabled that decision after an independent examiner urged FWISD not to proceed with her firing.

The Star-Telegram reported that Robert C. Prather Sr., the independent hearing examiner appointed by the Texas Education Agency, issued a 76-page report calling Clark’s proposed dismissal “not justified” and “not supported by the evidence.”

“It is recommended that the FWISD administration’s proposed termination of the continuing contract of Georgia Clark is not justified, is not supported by the evidence, should not be approved, and should not be upheld, and that Georgia Clark’s appeal of the proposed termination be granted and that FWISD decline to terminate the employment of Georgia Clark,” Prather said, according to the report.

Tuesday’s FWISD meeting began with a public comment section. According to the Star-Telegram, the majority of the 10 or so speakers urged the board to fire Clark because they viewed her comments as attacks on students.

Last week, Clark defended her actions, telling WFAA that proper procedures were not followed in her dismissal and that she should be reinstated.

“I want to work with students who truly need my help,” Clark told the outlet. “I need my job back and those kids need me too.”

She said she did not regret sending the posts and sees herself as a whistleblower.

According to the Star-Telegram about 88 percent of the students at Carter-Riverside are Hispanic.

Clark has not provided any evidence as to whether any of them were in the country illegally.

‘Punished for Doing the Right Thing’ vs. ‘I Applaud FWISD’

Twitter users weighed in with conflicting voices on the post announcing the board’s decision to fire Clark.

“Aiding criminals is against the law,” one user wrote. “This teacher is being punished for doing the right thing.”

“She was on the payroll to be a teacher, not a racist,” someone contended. “I applaud FWISD.”

“Shameful and cowardly behavior by the board and an ugly precedent to set,” someone else argued. “This teacher spoke the truth. You refused to help her, bowing instead to the open borders mob.”