Rocklin Teacher Comes Under Fire For Years-OId Tweets With Derogatory, Racist Tone

ROCKLIN (CBS13) - Troubling tweets made by a local teacher years ago are resurfacing tonight.

The Rocklin Unified School District (RUSD) was aware of tweets that had an allegedly derogatory tone, made by a current staff member before they were employed by RUSD at the beginning of the year. The staff member is still employed and a District spokesperson said there was an investigation and "appropriate action was taken."

The tweets are from 2013 and say that the person tweeted they will leave a dating app due the race of a woman on the app. The tweets, verified by the District, belong to a current RUSD employee who was not employed with RUSD when the tweets went out in 2013.

Some parents told CBS13 that action isn't enough because the staff member is still employed with RUSD. In an email to a concerned parent, obtained by CBS13, the RUSD Superintendent Roger Stock wrote:

"Though the entire post was removed during the beginning of the school year, as we are well aware, social media has a life beyond its existence. It appears that at one point an individual had taken a picture of the post and had circulated it to others."

In a photo obtained by CBS13, two of the staff member's tweets were printed and posted on a door on an RUSD campus. A district spokesperson told CBS13, "It was reported, investigated, and nothing was found in bathrooms or on campus."

One parent, who did not want her name shared for fear of backlash to her child at school, told CBS13 her child took a photo of the tweets when they were posted in a campus bathroom and showed them to a staff member on campus. At the time, the parent said, her child did not know the tweets were made by a staff member.

"When she took it to the staff member they really looked pretty shocked," a parent told CBS13.

Watch the full interview below

CBS13 obtained correspondence between a concerned RUSD parent and Superintendent Stock. In it, Stock condemned the content of the posts "regardless of the date in which they were written."

In a statement to CBS13 an RUSD spokesperson wrote:

"The Rocklin Unified School District is committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment for all students, families and staff members. Earlier this school year, the school district was informed of inappropriate social media posts made in 2013 by a staff member prior to their employment with RUSD. While personnel matters remain confidential, the school district investigated this incident at the start of this school year, and appropriate action was taken. The Rocklin Unified School District does not tolerate language or acts of racism, hate or bullying. Rocklin Unified will continue to partner with community stakeholders, such as through the district's Equity and Inclusivity Steering Committee, to raise awareness and foster a collaborative learning environment for all."

The subject is sensitive among parents, many told CBS13 they didn't feel comfortable sharing on-the-record because of potential backlash for their student or from the district.

"Now, I feel like, if my child is to get that teacher over the next two years we're probably going to have to contact someone that we don't want them in that class," one parent told CBS13.