“There’s an ongoing investigation going on,” Dafler told the standing-room-only crowd.
A total of 14 people — Miamisburg students, parents and alumni — voiced support for music teacher and band director Steve Aylward, who posted comments online, with at least one mentioning support of social studies teacher Rachael O’Connor, who spoke to students about Kirk in a classroom and later had audio of her remarks posted to social media.
Brooklyn Miller, a Miamisburg High senior, said the controversy over Aylward’s online remarks stemmed from them being taken out of context and being misrepresented on social media to imply he was OK with people getting assassinated just because he doesn’t share the same views as them.
“Never did Mr. Aylward state or even imply anything along those lines,” she said. “His comment was referring to violence and gun deaths, not endorsing harm.”
Miller said Aylward later clarified his stance, condemned Kirk’s assassination again and offered condolences to the Kirk family.
She and others said Aylward never indoctrinates students and keeps politics out of the classroom, treating equally students of all beliefs.
Parent Laura Kinner said that “to say that Aylward has impacted the whole school would be an understatement” and lauded him for showing unwavering belief in each student’s potential and for inspiring thousands of children.
“Aylward has always been there for our kids, even when some of us couldn’t,” Kinner said. “To fire him would be showing our children that no matter how good a person you are, it will get you nowhere if you don’t believe in the same ideas as everyone. It would show them that freedom of speech doesn’t exist anymore.”
Mark Bledsoe, who said his grandson attended MHS and participated in its band, objected to being unable to speak at the meeting after the public-comment period had expired. In a written copy of his remarks he provided to the school board, he said it has “no other choice” but to fire both teachers.
Bledsoe said the crowd of students who gathered outside the closed-door school board meeting Wednesday in support of Aylward and O’Connor is “solid evidence that this speech from these teachers and others like them have profoundly affected the minds of our children.”
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