Teachers on leave after mocking students skipping for 'Day Without Immigrants'

When students decided to skip school to join the nationwide "Day Without Immigrants" protest against President Donald Trump's immigration policies, six Southern California teachers apparently joked on social media about how pleasant their days were without the missing pupils.

Those teachers, who work at Rubidoux High School in California's Inland Empire School District, are on paid leave.

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It all started with a Facebook post by teacher Geoffrey Greer, who reportedly wrote:

"As for the school system, having my class size reduced by 50% all day long only served to SUPPORT Trump’s initiatives and prove how much better things might be without all this overcrowding.

"That’s what you get when you jump on some sort of bandwagon cause as an excuse to be lazy and/or get drunk. Best school day ever."

Greer quickly was blasted for his comments, and he deleted the post. However, a student was able to preserve it with a screenshot.

>> See the post here

It may be gone now but ladies and gentlemen l I present  to you our beloved teachers from Rubidoux high school     .My...

Posted by Guadalupe Lopez on Thursday, February 16, 2017

Other teachers at the school replied to Greer's post, according to the Riverside Press Enterprise. The teachers agreed on what a nice day it was.

Eighty percent of the school district’s students are Latino or Hispanic.

One teacher, Robin Riggle, noted that she had 50 absences. Greer offered this reply: “Yup. And I bet your class went a whole lot more smoothly as well.”

Riggle answered back: “Yes, it was a very pleasant day.”

>> See the post here

The school district's superintendent, Robert Garcia, said he was disappointed by the teachers' remarks, according to the Washington Post.

“I am aware of and deeply understand the fears and concerns of our students,” Garcia said in a statement. “I am calling on members of our community to come together to assure that our schools remain safe and our student’s voices are heard.”

Rubidoux High School's principal, Jose Luis Araux, posted a video to YouTube addressing the situation, in which he made clear that the views of the suspended teachers did not reflect those of the rest of the staff. He promised an investigation into the incident and said he had faith in the intelligence and capabilities of the students.

>> Click here to watch the video

Some students skipped another day of school to protest the teachers' comments.

>> Check it out here

The story even got the attention of Univision:

According to the Press Enterprise, Greer issued an apology on Facebook: "While I stand by my assertion that skipping school is no way to demonstrate one's value to society, I do apologize for the harsh tone and hurtful structure of the previous message. I hadn't meant for it to come across as quite so scathing."

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