Okla. school official tweets: Educators 'dirtbags'

TULSA, Okla. — Oklahoma schools Superintendent Janet Barresi's chief of staff recently used her personal Twitter account to refer to two school administrators as "dirtbags."

The Sept. 7 message by Jennifer Carter mentions a lawsuit by Jenks and Union against parents who earlier sued the districts.

The parents' lawsuit claims the districts refused to provide scholarships as provided by state law to send their special-needs children to private schools. The districts' lawsuit seeks to have the law declared unconstitutional.

Carter is on maternity leave and not immediately return a request for comment.

Barresi says the comment "was a poor choice of words." She says in a statement issued Thursday that "Oklahomans are concerned and shocked that any school district would vindictively target the parents of special needs children with a groundless lawsuit."

[DEFishback]

On March 27, 2012, a Tulsa district judge ruled in this case and found the Oklahoma special-education "scholarships" law unconstitutional because it diverted public money to sectarian institutions. It would appear that the "dirtbags" had a point, after all. (Oh, and Ms. Carter resigned her post immediately after returning from state-paid maternity leave.)

[spededok]

I think she cut them major slack with her choice of words. They are far worse than "dirt-bags". They are money-grubbing bureaucrats who head up the mega-schools in Tulsa County. 5 months of the Jenks administrator's salary would cover tuition for 12 years of a child's education at a private school that is specifically for special needs children. I would love it if this could be fully investigated. Anyone?