Teacher Fired After Posts About Satanism, Violent Mental Illness
The social media account Libs of TikTok helped shed light on the disturbing online presence of an art teacher at William J. Butler Elementary School in Lockport, Illinois.
According to one post, Kris Martin had been diagnosed with bipolar I disorder “with mania and psychosis,” which had caused “violent and hurtful” behavior in the past.
“Because of it I suffer from irrational thought processes which make my fears and anxieties triple,” Martin added. “Every day is a battle with my mind to survive and be the best me I can be.”
Other social media activity reflected a penchant for satanism, violent imagery and a strong anti-police sentiment.
A number of parents within the Homer Community Consolidated School District 33C demanded that Martin be removed from the position.
“If he has his lifestyle, so be it, but that is not going to be put onto our children,” said one mother.
State Sen. John Curran, who serves as the chamber’s Republican leader, also weighed in on the issue by empathizing with the concerned parents and unequivocally calling for Martin to be fired.
“I recently became aware of the disturbing social media posts from a recently hired local teacher that make this individual unfit for the classroom,” he said. “I share the concerns of the parents of SD33C and join in calling for the removal of this teacher from the school.”
The school board ultimately responded to the growing backlash and held a meeting on Sunday during which the teacher was reportedly fired.
As Superintendent Dr. Craig Schoppe explained: “The Board of Education held a special meeting this evening to consider action on an employee issue. The Board of Education approved the dismissal of a certified employee.”
Prior to that meeting, the district reportedly addressed the concerns on social media but subsequently turned off the comments and later deleted the posts altogether.
Of course, that move was deemed too little, too late by a number of local parents who are launching a campaign to vote out certain members of the board in an upcoming election. Critics argue that the district did not perform an adequate background check before offering a job to Martin.
