LVUSD educator Rachel McKagan remains on administrative leave after drawing intense backlash for a social media post regarding the death of Charlie Kirk. 

While the LVUSD Board publicly denounced McKagan in the immediate aftermath of her comments, a month later, her employment status remains uncertain. 

The day after the September 10  assassination of Charlie Kirk the following post appeared on McKagan’s Facebook: “Karma is a bitch.” 

“Please unfriend me if you ever supported the filthy Nazi propaganda-spewing racist misogynist who got what he deserved yesterday,” continued the post. “REAL Christians, REAL people of faith, would NEVER support this fake Christian who was so un-Christ-like and full of hatred for people of color, LGBTQIA+ people, and women.” 

The above photo was posted September 13 by S.A.F.E. CAMPUS on Instagram, an organization that “combats antisemitism and advocates for Zionists and Jews discriminated against and excluded on college campuses.” They posted screenshots of her account, her statement, and gave the school’s name in the caption, encouraging viewers to write to her employer.

On September 13, after S.A.F.E CAMPUS’s initial post, the LVUSD board posted a statement denouncing McKagan, a veteran LVUSD employee of more than 30 years, and her post, indicating they would move forward with termination. 

“We are shocked and deeply dismayed by the vile and completely inappropriate sentiments displayed in a social media post made by one of our employees regarding the recent horrific murder of Charlie Kirk,” said the district in a post on the LVUSD Facebook page. 

The post went on to say, “The employee has been placed on an immediate leave while the District engages in the legally required investigation and procedures to move forward with termination. The employee will not be in classrooms when school resumes Monday.”

This statement of condemnation appeared on the official Facebook account of the LVUSD Board of Education, and also appeared on individual member’s accounts, including those of Board members Angela Cutbill, Lesli Stein, and Linda Menges. The posts have since been removed. 

It is unclear whether the statement ever appeared on either Board President Dallas Lawrence’s Facebook page or Board member Alan Lazar’s Facebook page. It currently does not.

Via an email to The Courier, Board President Dallas Lawrence provided an additional statement to be attributed to the board as a whole. Lawrence made no further comment. Nor did he respond to The Courier’s request for follow up. He also did not address the Board’s prior statement.

According to the new statement, “The District is committed to conducting a thorough, impartial, and timely investigation. To allow the District to conduct an impartial investigation and to protect the safety of students and staff, the employee was placed on administrative leave, which is not a disciplinary action. When the investigation is complete, the Board will take appropriate action.”

Among the community’s key concerns is the Board’s response and actions regarding McKagan’s post.

“There are …indications that a board quorum decided to place the teacher on leave without advanced public notice of a board meeting, which could violate the Brown Act,” wrote Josh Alpert, Agoura Hills resident, in a letter to The Acorn.

The Brown Act guarantees the public’s right to attend meetings of local legislative bodies. According to the “Brown Act Basics” page from Cerritos College, a meeting is “any gathering of a majority of the members of a legislative body to discuss or deliberate on matters within the body’s jurisdiction.” The First Amendment Coalition’s Brown Act Primer reports that proper notice of meetings must be sent out in advance, with an agenda listing the subjects. Topics not on the agenda generally must not be discussed. 

“While I appreciate the urgency, district protocols were not followed,” said Alpert.

In a comment that appeared inmade to the Acorn by Westlake Village resident Kelley Smith, she said, “As board president, you unfortunately have no legal authority to decide if a teacher is fired. That requires written charges, notice, and hearing before a Commission on Professional Competence…You’ve also compromised due process and exposed LVUSD to legal consequences, including a first amendment retaliation claim.”

In order to remove a permanent employee, the California Education Code regarding teacher dismissal states that “Any written statement of charges shall specify instances of behavior and the acts or omissions constituting the charge.” 

Additionally, “A notice of the governing board of the school district to an employee of its intention to dismiss or suspend him or her, together with written charges filed or formulated pursuant to this section, shall be sufficient to initiate a hearing.” 

Whether or not the district has taken any of these steps with McKagan remains unconfirmed at this moment.

This issue’s implications extend far beyond Calabasas, as similar situations are unfolding across the country. However, within LVUSD, the controversy has also been a cause for concern amongst staff members, including several CHS teachers.

“In this climate, teachers are having to weigh this balance of personal expression and professional responsibility,” said Brad Boelman, CHS social studies chair. “I think it’s difficult as teachers because we’re so public facing. It’s important that students understand that their teachers do have political opinions…but it’s not really my place to share that in a classroom.” 

Social Justice teacher and Las Virgenes Educator’s Association representative Adam Weinstein also shared his perspective.

“One of the things that concerns me is the speed at which this decision was made…it’s concerning and potentially a cause for alarm. I feel like there probably would need to be a little bit more investigation or consideration taken before making public statements,” said Weinstein.

Many CHS staff members echoed concerns about LVUSD’s response, which some community members viewed as hasty.

“From the outside view, it does seem like there could have been more due process,” said Boelman.

One retired CHS teacher addressed the larger concerns of free speech. 

“The teacher in question was exercising protected rights on a private forum apart from official school district premises, time or tools. Whenever a citizen exercises those rights and engages in public discourse about a topic of current concern, that presents the possibility for dialogue,” wrote former CHS Social Studies teacher and Thousand Oaks resident Tom Johnsen in a letter to The Acorn. 

“There will certainly be those who disagree with the substance and/ or the tone of the published remarks, but the response needs to be to engage with more discourse, not to muzzle and punish the speaker,” wrote Johnsen.