Texas

Duncanville Teacher Fired After Resignation Rejected Following Controversial Tweet

District rejects resignation, instead fires teacher

The Duncanville Independent School District has fired a teacher who posted a profanity-laced, racially-charged message on her personal Twitter account last week.

Vinita Hegwood said she was "deeply sorry for the offensive and unprofessional comments" in a statement released Thursday via the Texas American Federation of Teachers.

"I believe that it is in the best interests of the district that I resign my position at Duncanville ISD effective immediately," she said in the statement.

The school board, however, rejected her resignation and instead fired Hegwood.

Hegwood said the remarks were in response to "a series of threatening and racist attacks against me by strangers who disagreed with my expressed opinions on Ferguson, Missouri."

The tweets were related to Michael Brown, who was unarmed when fatally shot Aug. 9 in Ferguson, Missouri. The shooting has led to ongoing community unrest.

"I allowed myself to respond emotionally and impulsively. My reaction in no way reflects the standards to which I have held myself and my students for the last twenty years of teaching," she continued. "I accept full responsibility for my actions, and I regret the embarrassment that it has caused the school district."

Hegwood met with district administrators Monday morning, and they had planned to make a final decision on her future at a Dec. 8 school board meeting.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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