Update 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21
A Billings Skyview High School teacher was reassigned to another position following an apparent investigation of a social media post made involving slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, according to a Tuesday statement from the district.
The district stated the decision to reassign was "to ensure the safety and stability of the learning environment for students and staff" and was not a disciplinary action. The district did not say where the teacher was reassigned.
The district has not identified the teacher nor confirmed the investigation is related to the post. A source close to the incident told Q2 News the post is related to the investigation.
The statement came a day after a tense Billings School District 2 board meeting, where multiple members of the public attempted to speak on the matter, only to be rebuffed by Board Chair Jennifer Hoffman, who said no public comment would be taken on a teacher's employment.
Here's the full statement from the district:
"Billings Public Schools confirms that a staff member at Skyview High School has been reassigned to another position within the district following a review of circumstances that affected the school environment.
This decision was made solely to ensure the safety and stability of the learning environment for students and staff. The reassignment is not disciplinary and not based on the content of any individual’s personal or protected speech.
District leadership conducted a careful review involving school administration, staff, and safety personnel. The findings indicated widespread distraction, heightened tensions, and verifiable safety concerns that made it necessary to take immediate operational action.
Billings Public Schools remains committed to protecting employee rights while maintaining safe, respectful, and disruption-free classrooms for every student. No additional information will be released to protect the privacy of all individuals involved."
(original report) BILLINGS - Tensions were high at the School District 2 board meeting on Monday night, with the debate ultimately coming down to the right of free speech.
It involves a teacher possibly being under investigation for social media posts, something Q2 has been asking for the district to confirm for the last week, with no response.
Watch Billings School District 2 story here:
But citizens had a chance to offer their comments.
“I know there's a lot of contention in the air, a lot going on in regards to the teacher at Skyview and his…,” one woman said.
“We're not mentioning anything about it,” said board chair Jennifer Hoffman. “This will be the one time that I warn the rest of the public for public comment. There will be no commenting about a teacher or where they may or may not be working.”
Sources say the district is looking at a teacher for a post about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
It's not known if this is the reason for a possible investigation.
But several showed up hoping to speak on it.
“I disagree vehemently with the way the district conducted its investigation with students by involving human resources in student interviews without parental knowledge or consent,” another woman said.
“I'm sorry,” Hoffman said. “We are not going to have a conversation and we're not going to listen to anything that is a pending or past pending investigation into personnel matters.”
And a source tells Q2 the teacher has been moved to another position in the district, but once again that is not confirmed.
Speakers on both sides came to the meeting hoping to focus on that.
“Academia has become a mecca for an ideology and a safe haven for an indoctrination of our children,” one man said. “A narrative that has been ravaging the political climate for the last 8 months. Absolutely nothing is acceptable about political violence or the celebration thereof.”
With those discussions not permitted, First Amendment rights became the topic.
“The teacher has done it privately and it is put out there into the world by other people for their own reasons,” one woman said about the post. “That is not the teacher's part and would not justify ignoring their constitutional right to First Amendment protection.”
“The youth is the generation of the world, one man said. “It is what is going to exhibit American values to the rest of the world in the future generations to come.”
Hoffman asked that the comments be confined to the general topic of First Amendment free speech rights and that this was not the appropriate forum to address any decision that is pending or has recently been completed.
