Group supports teacher
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on November 4, 2014 1:46 PM
Supporters of a substitute teacher recently relieved of her duties after a student-captured video of her attempt to break up a fight at Goldsboro High School hit the Internet brought their case to the Board of Education Monday night.
Calling themselves "Wayne County Concerned Citizens," three people addressed the board, suggesting the handling of the situation was "not appropriate" and asking for a public apology for Janet Barnes.
Mrs. Barnes, a retired choral teacher with more than 34 years in the district plus six months as a substitute, was removed from the county schools' call list after the video surfaced on Facebook.
The incident took place on Sept. 4, when Mrs. Barnes reportedly used a yardstick in an attempt to try to separate the students involved in an altercation. In the video, the yardstick does not make any contact with the students. The incident was captured on a cellphone video and posted online one month later, at which time it came to the attention of school officials.
Friends, former students and supporters of the veteran teacher promptly rallied around her, holding a community meeting on Oct. 21. The contingent continued its fight to restore Mrs. Barnes' reputation during Monday night's public comment.
April Hobbs-Cox took issue with the delay in action, suggesting that it was not until the video drew the attention of media that school officials took action.
"The community is concerned that if this video had not (gone) public and the media attention, she would still be instated," she said. "Ms. Barnes was my teacher. Ms. Barnes was my children's teacher. The community is very concerned."
She said the video was an inaccurate portrayal of the educator she knew.
"What the community is asking is that although we know what her character is, people outside this community do not know," she said. "The community is asking that an apology can be written to Ms. Barnes."
Kimberly Best expressed her concerns about restoring Ms. Barnes' reputation.
"As a parent and former student and concerned citizen, I would like to know clarification on how the situation was handled," she said. "The media has made it sound worse than it actually was."
Reco Hart, pastor of Mount Zion Church Ministries, cited some discrepancies.
"She was removed by the board. The board was not aware. The board did not make this decision. The board did not remove her from the master substitute list," he said.
Hart referenced the district's policy regarding acceptable use of social media by employees and alleged that two employees had posted and reposted the video.
"It was not appropriate," he said. "The handling of it was not appropriate. These two individuals from my understanding were given a letter. We would like clarification as to how that was handled since (the policy) was in black and white."
He said his group had collected more than 1,300 online signatures supporting Ms. Barnes' reinstatement.
The school board traditionally does not respond to public comment, but two members did make brief remarks during board comment, thanking the group for its appearance in support of the teacher.
Board members Dr. Dwight Cannon and Arnold Flowers said it was "important" to direct such matters to the board.
"A lot of things we cannot deal with right off the cuff because of practice and our policy (not to comment)," Cannon said. "But I do ask all the citizens of Wayne County, rather than depending on the media hype, you go to the source.
"We're transparent. If you want to know, you can know. I would not be a part of anything that would be otherwise."