Duncanville Teacher Fired After Twitter Scandal
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DUNCANVILLE (CBSDFW.COM) - Trustees in the Duncanville Independent School District held a special meeting early Friday morning to talk about the case of a teacher caught up in a Twitter scandal. This came even after the teacher submitted a letter of resignation.
Vinita Hegwood apologized in a statement released on Thursday. But the district was not ready to close the book on the case, and did not accept her resignation. They had already scheduled a special meeting for Friday morning and, despite the resignation from Hegwood, the school board still met as planned.
However, the meeting was brief -- only about 20 minutes -- as school district trustees voted unanimously to terminate Hegwood's teaching contract. Superintendent Dr. Alfred Ray said that the move was in the best interest of the students within his school district. "As superintendent of schools, I have the authority, under the board's policy and my contract here, to accept the resignation of any staff member," Ray said. "That was not a decision I wanted to make in this case."
The controversial online posting, which Hegwood put on her personal Twitter page last week, used a number of harsh expletives and referenced the racial issues affecting Ferguson, Missouri. The teacher said that those who did not agree with her opinion should kill themselves.
The tweet read: "Who the f*** made you dumb duck a** crackers think I give a squat f*** about your opinions about my opinions RE: #Ferguson? Kill yourselves."
Those profanity-laced comments have since been deleted.
"I am deeply sorry for the offensive and unprofessional comments that I made on my personal Twitter account," added Hegwood in her apology. "I allowed myself to respond emotionally and impulsively."
School officials said that Hegwood had not returned to her classroom since airing out her frustrations in the heated and racially-charged Twitter posting. She was suspended on Monday. "Hegwood expressed an opinion on social media that is solely her own," the district said. "We do not condone it."
"The nature of the comments are reprehensible," continued district spokeswoman Lari Barager. "This district is about inclusion. It's about diversity. It's about respect for all people."
Hegwood taught English classes at Duncanville High School. State records show that she has been an educator in Texas for 19 years.
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