School Principle Fired for Saying She'd Prefer a Potato as President Over Joe Biden
Pennsylvania elementary school principal is suing district officials over dismissal
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A veteran elementary school educator has been fired from her job after she shared conservative posts on social media, including one meme that said she'd rather have a potato as president than Democrat nominee Joe Biden.
Amy Sacks was fired from her role as principal of Evergreen Elementary School after the Perkiomen Valley School District and Superintendent Barbara Russell decided her social media postings were "offensive, unacceptable, and unprofessional."
After working at the school for 20 years, Sacks was fired after she posted a number of conservative memes to her Facebook page, which can be viewed in the report at The Daily Mail.
Sacks revealed in a Facebook post that the school district and Superintendent Russell "decided that the First Amendment Freedom of Speech has no place in public schools and that teachers and administrators are unfit to serve if they hold and express political beliefs that are right of center."
An attorney representing Sacks says she was "mysteriously removed with little explanation."
Her lawyer added that Russell fired Sacks because she believed her social media postings meant she must be "racist."
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According to the report, Sacks' lawsuit claims the school district superintendent told Sacks that her posts were offensive to a parent who reported them.
After having been fired in July, Sacks posted on Thanksgiving Day: "Many of you know that I am no longer the Principal of Evergreen Elementary at this time.”
“However, the circumstances surrounding this situation have been kept quiet until now,” she said.
She continued, according to the report:
I am reaching out to you today to share with you that as Principal of Evergreen Elementary School I was terminated because I expressed right of center political views – PRIVATELY.
Political memes caused me to lose my job. Nothing that I did was even borderline unacceptable – they were simply political viewpoints.
…
I was Principal of one of the best performing elementary schools in Pennsylvania and still fell victim to being cancelled out by liberal bureaucrats who don’t believe in diversity of thought, speech, opinion, or political affiliation.
Besides the meme that read, “This is a potato; if this potato was running against Joe Biden, I’d vote for the potato,” Sacks posted another in June, during the riots and looting that occurred in some cities, that read, “Due to Covid, we’re gonna need people to riot from home and destroy your own s**t.”
“With the support of my husband and family, I have decided to challenge the school district by filing a lawsuit against them to save my job,” Sacks said.
“I hope to lead by example and inspire others to stand against the erosion of our constitutional rights in America."
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Sacks is seeking $500,000 for the “emotional turmoil” she has suffered as a result of her termination.
Her attorneys asserted, “At no point was Amy advised to get counsel, nor was she informed of her rights; instead she was viciously threatened with career ruination if she tried to contest anything happening.”
The Mail reported the school board approved of Sacks’ termination but then announced she had “resigned.”
"The conduct was wildly illegal,” her lawyers added.
"Amy has a near-absolute right to free speech on her private Facebook account.
"Furthermore, before any action can be taken against a public employee, Due Process requires that the school provide her notice of the charges against her.”
