PICKERINGTON, Ohio — People in Pickerington made their voices heard outside of a special school board meeting following recent controversial posts on social media.
Last week, Pickerington Local School District confirmed to 10TV they were investigating social media posts by Fairfield Elementary Principal Ruth Stickel. The posts were critical of the Black Lives Matter movement and political in nature.
The board decided to give Stickel a written warning saying, "future use of social media should reflect the professionalism and behavior consistent of a school employee and, more specifically, as a building principal that leads staff ... this unprofessional behavior will not be tolerated and any future violations will result in further disciplinary action, including possible termination of employment."
The board's actions led to public outcry as just months ago, an assistant principal in the district had her promotion to principal rescinded following a social media post on her personal Facebook page showing profane language critical of police.
"We need answers. We need an explanation from the district - if there was a difference, what is the difference," said parent Charles Newman. "Nothing we see shows a difference and all we see is that standard the district set in place has been broken and equity is not being seen."
The school board immediately went into executive session Monday night. 10TV asked the district spokesperson why the two situations involving the principal and assistant principal were handled differently. The spokesperson said they would be issuing a statement following the board meeting or possibly Tuesday morning.
The Pickerington Village Parent Group wants Stickel to be removed as principal, the superintendent to resign, people of color on the school board, and a diversity and equity plan in place.
"We want our children of all colors, all races, all backgrounds to be in a district where we all have access to a great education," Newman said.
The district provided the following statement regarding their initial decision on Principal Stickel:
"The district has investigated and issued discipline in the matter involving social media comments posted by Mrs. Stickel. The district's response was in accordance with board policy regarding the use of social media as a representative of the school district (7540.04A), and the PLSD Administrative Handbook. Additionally, Pickerington Schools will schedule and conduct additional sensitivity training sessions with all school administrators, with a focus on the use of social media."