Teacher resigns over online post

Comment targeted Obamas

A Malvern High School teacher accused of making racially derogatory comments about President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama has resigned, the Malvern School District said Thursday.

The district unanimously accepted the resignation of Trent Bennett, a science teacher, during a special session of the six-member School Board according to a statement from the district.

Screenshots from a Facebook page with Bennett's name and photo show a comment that referred to Michelle Obama as "America's First Chimp." The images spread across the Internet in the past few days, and led education and civil-rights groups to call for Bennett to resign or be fired.

The screenshots show another comment that states: "Just glad to see that nasty chimp and her spider monkey hubby gone for good."

The Facebook page with Bennett's name and photo has now been deleted.

The Malvern School District announced Monday that it was investigating the comments but did not name Bennett or provide further details about the inquiry.

"Over the holiday weekend the district became aware of what appears to be a social media post by a district employee on his personal account that was inappropriate, insensitive, and used racially-charged rhetoric," the district said in a statement. "In no way are these posts reflective of the district."

The Malvern High School website has profiles of each teacher that list the teacher's professional experience, education, work schedule and contact information. Bennett's profile had been removed by late Thursday. A cached version of the Web page as it appeared Dec. 21 shows that Bennett taught physical science, and anatomy and physiology.

One of Bennett's class rules, according to a syllabus found on the Web page, was "be polite and respectful" to others.

Further details on his employment history weren't immediately available.

Malvern School District Superintendent Brian Golden, who was listed among the attendees of the School Board meeting Thursday, could not be reached for comment.

NW News on 12/31/2016

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