Board members voted 3-2 in favor to place the question of firing three educators on the agenda of their Oct. 13 meeting. Members Joshua Day, Jeremy Cox, and George Leightenheimer voted in favor, with members Mary Grech and Bill Richey dissenting.
Xenia teachers Kevin Keefe and Jenn Davis were the subject of a social media firestorm over the last two weeks after they posted comments on their personal Facebook pages about the death of Kirk. Each have been educators in Xenia schools for over 20 years.
The third educator, an elementary school librarian, was not as publicly vilified, but had caught the board’s attention, Leightenheimer said. The district has not publicly named any of the teachers involved.
The Xenia teachers’ comments went viral, after being picked up by conservative-leaning social media pages, including “Libs of Tiktok.” The district received 36 messages about Keefe and Davis, the vast majority of which called for them to be fired, though a handful of correspondents voiced support for them.
On Monday, many members of the community waited in the board room during an executive session that lasted more than two hours. While most attendees were from Greene County, few were from Xenia.
Amanda Jackson, a mother whose children attend Xenia schools, said the vote to put it on the board’s next meeting should have been a vote to terminate the teachers’ employment.
“I think putting it two weeks out there is just going to get people fired up and not do what needs to be done,” she said.
“You’re allowed to have freedom of speech,” Jackson said. “But again, there are consequences to what you say. You cannot go about celebrating somebody’s death and not be punished for it. That’s not a left view, right view. It’s a good versus bad.”
The three teachers will be notified that the board will vote on an intent to terminate, Leightenheimer said, adding they have 10 days to request a hearing, by law.
Leightenheimer, Grech, and Day are all running for reelection this November.
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