Southmoreland School District continuing probe of teacher in connection with racist post
No action is expected at Southmoreland School Board’s meeting Thursday in response to a racist Facebook post purportedly made last month from a middle school teacher’s account, according to school officials.
David Petonic, the district’s solicitor, said officials are continuing to investigate whether teacher Richard Love made the post. Petonic declined to comment further.
Superintendent Vincent Mascia announced during a special board meeting last week that Love was placed on administrative leave after the Jan. 27 comment was discovered. He added that the post, “which appeared to be made by a district teacher,” remains under investigation by Petonic.
Love has not yet faced a disciplinary hearing, Mascia said.
The comment appeared on a post by Breitbart News, a conservative media website. It was accompanied by Love’s name and photograph from his Facebook account. The comment was made on the Breitbart page during a news conference of the Biden administration addressing unemployment rates.
Love’s Facebook page has since been deleted, as has his LinkedIn account.
The Tribune-Review was provided a screen shot of the post, which stated: “African Americans (blacks) are further behind because they don’t want to work. They would rather stay home and hold their hand out for a check from the government.”
Mascia delivered a prepared statement on the incident at the start of the Feb. 4 special meeting that was held via Zoom and posted on YouTube.
Mascia said school officials will not comment further while the investigation continues. He did not mention Love by name during the statement.
“First and foremost, the district rejects and condemns the view expressed in that social media post,” Mascia said. “The post does not represent the values of the Southmoreland School District.”
Mascia said, based on federal laws and the Pennsylvania School Code, public school employees are entitled to due process rights and the district will abide by those mandates. Based on those laws and the collective bargaining agreement with the Southmoreland Education Association, Mascia said results of the investigation will be kept confidential “while this matter is pending.”
Love’s wife, Aimee, is a school board member. She did not participate in the meeting.
Attempts to reach the Loves for comment have been unsuccessful.
The school board’s next scheduled meeting is 7 p.m. Thursday via Zoom.
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