racism

Parents Protest Alleged Offensive Comments by Cajon Valley School District Employees

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A Facebook post from the Cajon Valley Union School District regarding employees posting "offensive messages" in regard to the killing of George Floyd and the global demonstrations that followed drew a group of protester to district headquarters Tuesday.

Ryan Darsey, the organizer behind Tuesday's protest, told NBC 7 he's outraged over the district's reaction to the posts.

"The superintendent came out with a statement, in my opinion, that was pretty weak and a slap in the face," Darsey says.

NBC 7 is working to independently confirm the posts in question. However, the district posted to its Facebook Tuesday night, saying the messages did not reflect the values of the district and that the messages appeared to have been written after school hours.

The school also mentioned pursuing corrective behavior if warranted. Darsey said job termination and an altered curriculum should be the district response. 

"The school needs to start adopting policies that teach diversity in curriculum," Darsey says. 

Tuesday's protest only drew about 5 to 7 people, but protester Liz Lavertu said it wasn't just built up frustration over offensive comments on social media that got them there. She says the school culture itself needs to be reworked into being more racially just.

"I have students in Cajon Valley and I want to make sure that they feel safe when going to school and they're not discriminated based off the color of their skin," Lavertu says.

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