Divisive Facebook posts by a Red Clay school board member were the main topic at Wednesday night's board meeting.
Community members and parents came to either call on Jason Casper to resign or voice their support of him.
A number of parents say the posts, some of which date back to 2016, show a disturbing attitude toward gun violence and belittle students who protested gun violence. Red Clay parent Anne Budischak points to a post by Casper talking about driving through Baltimore. Budischak notes it was published shortly after President Donald Trump called Baltimore a “disgusting rat and rodent infested mess.”
“A city with similar demographics and community concerns as Wilmington, which Casper represents," she said. "He insults that city by suggesting he would only go there armed with a handgun, an assault rifle and a rat trap?”
Nadine Frost lives in the Red Clay School District. She says she cares a lot more about students’ educational success than Casper’s political views.
“I care about the curriculum and how my money will be spent to meet educational goals," she said. "Until the literacy rate of our graduating seniors is at 100 percent, you should be laser-focused on that alone.”
Casper’s supporters say he was just exercising his free speech rights and not condoning violence.
Casper said he won’t resign, but issued an apology for the posts at the beginning of the school board meeting. He calls them inappropriate, adding they set a poor example for students. He was elected in May to a five-year term. But he withdrew his nomination for board president.
But his apology also upset some parents by saying many of them don’t usually show up at school board meetings or turn out to vote at school board elections.