A frustration with illegal immigration has one Fort Worth, TX, educator resorting to desperate measures – and paying a hefty price. Georgia Clark, an English teacher at Amon Carter-Riverside High School, has been fired for a series of tweets to President Donald Trump about her classroom being overrun by illegal immigrants. In her messages, Clark claimed her school had been “taken over” by “illegal students from Mexico” and reminded the president that he was elected, in part, “on the promise that a wall would be built to protect our borders.”
In a behind closed door special meeting, the eight-member Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) board of trustees voted unanimously to fire Clark this week after tweets to the president went viral on social media. Prior to the private deliberation resulting in Clark’s termination, a handful of teachers, parents, and a former student gave testimony in support of giving her the boot.
Penny Clanton, a parent, said, “Her comments were hurtful, irresponsible, misleading, and disrespectful to the students she is supposed to protect and educate.”
And fellow teacher Ernie Moran huffed and puffed: “Let's get one thing straight, ma'am no human is illegal.” Well, that’s not entirely true, Mr. Moran. An illegal alien is an illegal entrant into the United States: But children are a different story and shouldn’t be held responsible for the criminal activities of their parents. In 1982, the Supreme Court ruled that children of illegal aliens are entitled to attend public schools under the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.
Shameful comments to children – legal or otherwise – should not be tolerated no matter the status of their parents or guardians. Clark is currently cooling her jets on paid administrative leave with an opportunity to appeal the vote with the Texas Education Agency Commission. Her attorney has told a local news affiliate that they intend to dispute the decision, though no other details were provided.
So Much for Clandestine
The brouhaha began when Clark opened a faux Twitter handle and sent the president an urgent message: “@realdonaldtrump, I do not know what to do. Anything you can do to remove illegals from Fort Worth would be greatly appreciated.”
Jacinto "Cinto" Ramos, Jr.
She believed the messages were private and provided her own name and telephone number. In another message, she acknowledged she had contacted the Texas Education Agency Commission and her teacher organization for counsel and added, “I need protection from recriminations should I report it to the authorities.”
The school district’s investigators who spoke with Clark say she admitted to sending what she thought to be private pleas for help. The report also states that Clark has since filed a police report after having suffered a plethora of “racist bitch” taunts via phone after open borders advocates spread her number about on social media.
The Hispanic student population in the Fort Worth Independent School District is relatively high, sitting at 63% – and 88% of students in Clark’s classroom are Hispanic. It seems that most people would wonder about legal status.
Had this series of tweets been the only occasion that Clark made noises of intolerance, perhaps the entire situation could have been hashed out by the teachers’ union and the FWISD. But a suspension in 2013 and a couple of recent complaints gave the school enough ammunition to toss out a 20-year education veteran.
Frustrations Taken Out on Children
FWISD claims Clark once separated her class by race – white and black students on one side and Hispanics on the other – in 2013. They allege she said, “Mexicans need to cross the border to come to America.” Not the most empathetic of teachers, Clark was also alleged to have called one Caucasian student “white bread.” But as no context of the supposed incidents was indicated, it is unclear if the casual remarks were intentionally hurtful.
In a herculean effort of covering one’s own ass, Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Kent Scribner said the past incidents only came to his attention after Clark’s tweets went viral.
“The other incidents years past were resolved, and this is what we're dealing with today. And we're certainly going to make the recommendation that's in the best interests of our students and our district.”
Hindsight is 2020, and it isn’t difficult to assess that the latest series of tweets is mild compared to the allegations that were resolved just five years prior. FWISD president Jacinto “Cinto” Ramos, Jr also went into crisis management mode: “We wish to ensure these students that all children and their parents and/or guardians, that all children are welcome in Fort Worth ISD.”
If Clark is guilty of disparaging her students for being the children of illegal immigrants, she should indeed be terminated. But as someone on the front lines with information about illegal aliens should, she pay such a hefty price for trying to alert law enforcement officials about undocumented immigrants?
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