South Carolina teacher criticizes firings of staff in wake of controversial photo

FLORENCE, S.C. (WBTW) — The termination of Royall Elementary’s two top administrators along with several other people following a controversial photo posted last month to the school’s Facebook page will have long-lasting and negative effects, a teacher says.

“There’s not a single staff member who has a clear mind and heart. The loss of the five individuals from our Royall Elementary family cuts deep,” Royall Elementary third grade teacher Alissa Bennett said during a Thursday Florence 1 Schools board meeting. “You have let us down. You have let an entire community down.”

A picture posted to the school’s Facebook page on July 29 depicted staff members wearing sombreros and other Hispanic attire as part of a cultural celebration event. Two people were pictures wearing gray “Border Patrol” T-shirts.

In the days that followed, Superintendent Richard O’Malley said several members of the school were placed on administrative leave or terminated — including longtime principal Julie Smith and her assistant, Marci Gatewood.

“I sincerely hope the prompt actions taken illustrate to the entire community how seriously my administration took this event, and that we will not tolerate such ignorance in our schools,” he wrote in a letter to parents announcing the moves. “As a school district, we are so much better than this.”

Bennett accused O’Malley and board members of acting rashly.

“You did exactly what the media bullied you into doing. You did not take time to gather the facts, to look at the history, to make an educated decision,” she said. “I am not defending what happened. But the way the situation was handled was absolutely wrong. There were other courses of action that could have been taken.”

The photos drew the ire of groups including Racial Justice Network, a national civil rights group, and the Florence County Democratic Party.

Royall Elementary posted an apology of its own on Facebook a day after the photo surfaced.

“At Royall, we take great pride in our long-standing tradition of embracing and supporting every student who walks through the doors of our building,” the statement said. “Our staff is unanimously committed to celebrating the diversity of our families and enduring that each and every student at Royall is successful, happy and recognized for his or her unique culture and abilities.”

Calvin Robinson Jr. told board members that a lack of diversity was partly to blame for the incident.

“If the administration at Royall had been diverse, it is my sincere belief that someone would have said, ‘this is not a good idea,'” Robinson said. “Instead, due to a systemic problem in this district, we have now been embarrassed in front of an entire nation and as a result, the representation of a school and the administration has been sullied and careers have been destroyed.”

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