Paso Robles school district responds to ‘F--- Biden’ flag: ‘A very poor choice’
Paso Robles High School students’ efforts to honor veterans were “disrupted by a very poor choice to include a profane flag,” the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District said in a news release Wednesday.
The district sent the release on Wednesday afternoon in response to incidents that occurred during and after a pre-Veterans Day event held on the high school campus by students.
During the Nov. 10 event, someone was seen flying a “F--- Biden” flag.“ It wasn’t clear from the release whether that person was a student.
“The objectionable flag was up for a very limited amount of time,” the school district said, contradicting sources who told The Tribune the flag was around for several hours during the event.
“This both detracted from the intended purpose of the demonstration and led to considerable disruption, including some postings and exchanges on social media that were completely inappropriate,” the district said in the release. “We in no way condone nor excuse this misguided action.”
One such social media post was by a “district employee,” according to the release.
That employee shot video of themselves telling students who were involved in the Nov. 10 event, to “jump off a bridge,” according to clips sent to The Tribune.
“The district will make it clear to all employees that as an employee of PRJUSD, social media is not the appropriate venue for criticism of our students and families and that we must conduct ourselves in a professional manner,” the district said in the release. “The community is entrusting their children to our schools and employees. With this stated, we want to emphasize that the district does not tolerate threats on our employees or students, nor do we condone cyber-bullying.”
Paso Robles Unified stated in the release that students will be “appropriately disciplined and that it is “responding accordingly through the human resource office” regarding the employee.
“The district will expand its efforts to hold joint activities which promote tolerance and unity,” the release continued. “Veterans Day should be a day for patriotism and honoring service, not yet another politically divisive controversy. We call on the school community to come together as Roblans and Bearcats.”
Town hall event intended to bring unity to community
The Paso Robles Diversity Panel planned to host a Town Hall Unity Workshop on Wednesday evening.
The panel is a group of school district staff, Paso Robles community leaders, parents and students who began meeting in the spring of 2019 following a series of racist incidents at the Paso Robles school district.
Their aim is to open dialogue and present solutions to create a more welcoming community.
The workshop is a “roundtable, solutions-driven meeting generating ideas to lead us back together as a community,” according to an announcement made during the school district’s Nov. 9 board of trustees meeting.
All members of the community are invited to attend the workshop to “brainstorm ways to unify Paso Robles and create a safe space of inclusivity for all of us,” according to a flyer for the event
The event is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Bearcat Hall at Paso Robles High School.
This story was originally published November 17, 2021 at 5:07 PM.
