Teacher Who Shared Anti-Trump Views Out Of Classroom: District

WOODSTOCK, GA -- The River Ridge High School educator who engaged in a controversial back-and-forth with students about President Donald Trump and their Make America Great Again T-shirts has been removed from the classroom. That's according to information shared this week by the Cherokee County School District, which said a letter was recently sent home to parents of students who were taught math by Lyn Orletsky.

"Ms. Orletsky no longer is your child’s math teacher, effective immediately," a letter authorized to be sent by Superintendent Dr. Brian Hightower and signed by River Ridge Principal Darrell Herring said. "We have assigned a substitute teacher and are searching for a knowledgeable and experienced educator to teach these classes for the rest of the school year."

Herring also relayed to parents that he met with his faculty to review dress code and and state and federal laws restricting political activity by educators at school (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app).

"We are committed to providing your child with the best education possible to prepare them for future success," he continued.

Orletsky landed in hot water late last month when a video surfaced on Thursday, Aug. 31 of her espousing her beliefs in front of her students. She expressed personal opinions about the president as well as his Make America Great Campaign slogan, and told two students who were wearing the shirts with the phrase that the apparel was not allowed in her classroom.

The Cherokee County School District backed the students, informing the teacher, its entire workforce and the community that not only were her assumptions about dress code wrong, but that she was in violation in federal and state laws that prohibit employees from taking in activities such as sharing their personal political opinions with students during performance of their job duties and responsibilities.

Along with federal laws, state legislators further restricted political activity by public agencies, including school districts, with the passage of the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Act. This bars entities or individuals, acting on behalf of an agency, from directly or indirectly making any contribution to a campaign committee, political action committee, candidate or political organization.

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School district spokesperson Barbara Jacoby said Orletsky has been an employee with CCSD for five years, all of which have been served at River Ridge.

Image via Patch editor Neal McNamara