Elk Grove Unified Fires Employee Who Placed Confederate Flag In District Van
ELK GROVE (CBS13) – An employee who was found to have placed a Confederate flag inside of an Elk Grove Unified van has been fired, the school district announced in a letter to families.
On June 30, the district had announced two employees were placed on administrative leave after a parent had spotted them driving the van with the flag inside the cabin, which officials later found. The district did not identify the employee who was fired.
Elk Grove Unified said in the letter Friday that appropriate action was also taken with other employees who were aware of the behavior but chose not to speak up.
With district schools set to fully reopen August 12 for in-person classes, the district said the firing is part of an effort to show that "all students have a right to attend school free of bullying, intimidation and discrimination and we want our students who identify as Black and African American to know that every school has people they can rely on to create a safe space."
"We want everyone—students and staff—to make good choices and make our schools safe learning environments and remind everyone that if you see something, say something," the letter said.
This is not the first time the district has dealt with issues surrounding race. In 2017, a viral snap chat video of a student making racist remarks against the black community sparked outrage and meetings to address the issue. The same year, a high school student was pictured wearing a backpack with the confederate flag patch.