{"id":5112,"date":"2021-03-06T14:40:53","date_gmt":"2021-03-06T14:40:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=5112"},"modified":"2023-03-27T15:52:40","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T15:52:40","slug":"school-board-member-decries-hate-and-threats-from-teachers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2021\/03\/06\/school-board-member-decries-hate-and-threats-from-teachers\/","title":{"rendered":"School board member decries ‘hate and threats’ from teachers"},"content":{"rendered":"
Mike Lee says he has voted with Durham\u2019s teachers consistently during his seven years on the Durham Public Schools board. But after he and other board members voted to reopen school classrooms that have been closed since March 2020, he says, he was barraged with vitriol, bullying and personal threats from teachers.<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cAfter my vote to open up school on March 15, the hatred, the threats to myself and the mention of my children in a few different comments showed me everything I needed to know,\u201d Lee, the board’s vice chair, said at a school board meeting Tuesday. \u201cBecause it was all coming from staff. It was all coming from teachers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
He said he weighed the health concerns of resuming in-person instruction and sought expert advice before casting his vote, but he was still met with accusations that he \u201cwants our teachers to die.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cIn almost every situation, it has been, \u2018With the proper protocols, schools can open,\u2019\u201d Lee said. \u201cBut having that opinion apparently calls for hate and threats. That\u2019s where we are here in Durham: \u2018You disagree with us, you\u2019re dead to me.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n