Maine’s Regional School Unit 67 Board voted to terminate Mattanawcook Academy social studies teacher Derek Brewer for in-class comments made about Charlie Kirk days after his assassination.
According to WMTW 8, “School Board chair Rebecca Hanscom said Brewer made the comments to a freshman class on Sept. 11, 2025, the day after Kirk was shot and killed.”
In a statement, she explained the district’s reasoning for Brewer’s termination, which was decided on December 17. At length she expressed that Brewer’s actions demonstrate his unfitness to teach within the district.
Hanscom noted Brewer stated to his class that he “did not care that Kirk died and found it ironic that the Turning Point USA founder was shot. The latter comment was in reference to a video in which Kirk said a few people had to be shot in order to protect Second Amendment rights.”
“Mr. Brewer used his classroom as a personal forum to express his political views not related to the curriculum,” Hanscom continued. “Mr. Brewer communicated his own views to the students without emphasizing the need to keep an open mind, base judgment on known facts, look closely at facts to evaluate them in terms of the subject, and be ready to change one’s opinion should new facts come to light. Mr. Brewer did not ensure a wide range of information and did not present a balance among many points of view. Mr. Brewer did not permit students to opt out of being subjected to his views.”
“Mr. Brewer’s statements, made so close in time to an emotionally charged event in our history, were upsetting to a substantial segment of Mr. Brewer’s students and resulted in substantial disruption to the school community,” Hanscom said toward the statement’s conclusion. “Mr. Brewer has demonstrated a total lack of professional judgment in making the aforementioned comments, and he has refused to take responsibility for or acknowledge the consequences of his actions, including the substantial disruption it has caused to students and the school community.”
