Kansas Teacher Fined After Resigning Over Mask and CRT Policies
A Kansas school teacher was fined $1,000 by his school after resigning over masking policy and Critical Race Theory teachings.
Last month, Shawnee Mission School District sent an email announcing the renewal of its mask mandate for all students and unvaccinated teachers. This email was the final straw for Josiah Enyart, a 6th-grade math teacher.
Enyart says while the masks were his “final straw,” the school’s decisions have been frustrating him for quite some time. In 2014, the school spent $20 million to give every student an iPad or MacBook.
According to the Sentinel, a local news outlet, the district recently decided to spend $400,000 on “Deep Equity” critical race theory training for teachers that told teachers to “reject and resist any parents who disagree with” critical race theory.
After resigning, the school district decided to fine Enyart $1,000 as a “liquidation penalty” for resigning after a noted date in his contract, but I have a feeling the fine had more to do with personal and political angst than any contract issues.
In response to the district’s disturbing pattern of behavior, Enyart said:
“As a teacher, I can see these things, but after talking to hundreds of parents, they can’t. Why wouldn’t the public school system want the parents to know everything that their child is being exposed to? Why aren’t the parents being asked before these decisions are being made? And when they do, why do the board decisions not match the data on the surveys? As a district that prides itself on being ‘data driven,’ they do not seem to be following any real data on any of the issues.”
I couldn’t agree more, and moving forward, I think real change will continue to be sparked by teachers like Enyart speaking out against unruly public schools and the officials operating behind the curtains.
