A central Georgia school system has "taken measures to correct the situation" after a veteran teacher was recently accused of making controversial classroom comments about the president, including allegedly questioning his religion.
The teacher allegedly stated that President Barack Obama is not a Christian and that any parent who supports Obama is not a Christian either.
"Giving political opinions in the classroom is not OK, and we don't condone that, and we have taken measures to make sure it doesn't happen again," Dublin City Schools Superintendent Chuck Ledbetter said.
Ledbetter said a parent at Dublin Middle School first brought the matter to the school principal after the comments were allegedly made in late February; the matter was then brought to his attention, he said, and again presented to the larger school board at a meeting on March 23.
In a letter to the Courier Herald following that meeting, the local chapter of the NAACP called on the board to investigate.
By that point, Ledbetter said an investigation and corrective steps were already in motion, but that he appreciated the parent's desire to present to the board.
In its letter the NAACP also alleges that, in a parent-teacher conference soon after the comments were made, the teacher "presented to the parents a packet of several pages from a website that expressed her views on religion and politics" instead of adequately addressing their concerns. The teacher also brought her husband, who is a school board member, to that meeting, the NAACP alleges.
Ledbetter said that personnel actions are private and declined to give the teacher's name or outline the specific measures taken. He said that he asked the parent specifically and was told the incident was isolated.
The teacher was identified by WMGT, an NBC affiliate in Macon, as Nancy Perry, who told the station "what has been reported is 'untrue' and she calls this an "unfortunate issue.'" Perry's name was first reported by blogger Alan Wood.
"This is the first time we've had this take place, so we're trying to make sure we correct it with that teacher," Ledbetter said.
He said a letter has been sent to the family, outlining the measures taken, and that he will speak with them today.
He said the board tries to be transparent in its conduct and that it wants to clearly communicate that speech like this has no place in the classroom.
"Political opinions build walls, not bridges," Ledbetter said.
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