Wyandotte school board trustee resigns over "dogs or Muslims" social media post comment

A trustee on the Wyandotte (Michigan) Board of Education resigned Wednesday after posting "dogs" in a social media post asking "dogs or Muslims ... you can only keep one," a comment which many in the community considered racist and hurtful against Muslims.  

Cindy Kinney's name and photo no longer appear on the district's website on the trustees' page. 

The social media post in question asked "dogs or Muslims. You can only keep one," according to a statement from Arab American Civil Rights League about the circumstances. The ACRL says Kinney responded with "dogs." 

The school board held a special meeting on Tuesday. 

Kinney was not present that evening, with the roll call announcements reflecting she notified the board ahead of time that she would be out of town. The meeting lasted for about an hour, with only agenda item on Tuesday's meeting was labeled a "disclaiming resolution," disavowing the comment as representative of the board.

The resolution was among the few options the board has within its authority. School board president Theresa Crnkovich explained at the meeting that the board cannot actually remove one of its members, as all of them are elected officials.

Before that vote took place, the board opened up the meeting for public comment. Those speaking included several parents of students and graduates of the district who voiced their frustration and dismay after learning about the conversation. Those mothers included those who identified themselves at the speaker podium as Latina and Native American, saying they were upset about what they considered harmful remarks made about Muslim people. 

Superintendent Dr. James Anderson also addressed the board before the resolution was approved. 

"If any of those 700 people, myself included, had done what happened this weekend I would be accepting their resignation or taking more formal action to terminate employment with this district," he said. "It's not acceptable. It's not part of our school system."   

Nick Beaven-Parshall, who is also a trustee on the school board, was among those who shared an official statement before the resignation on behalf of the group that said in part: 

"The Wyandotte Public School Board has been made aware that one of our trustees has made a comment on a Facebook post that contained racist and dehumanizing content. The Board explicitly condemns the content of this post and the accompanying comment.  

"We expect a higher standard from our public officials, and this content breaches public trust and stands in direct opposition to the mission, vision and belief statements of the district. It also violates the Wyandotte Public School Board's Code of Ethics and our Board Operating agreements regarding use of social media." 

Then on Wednesday, Beaven-Parshall said Kinney had resigned effective immediately.

The Arab American Civil Rights League statement called for Kinney's immediate resignation. "This rhetoric is not merely inappropriate, it is explicitly dehumanizing toward a protected religious group and fundamentally incompatible with the duties of a public official entrusted with the wellbeing of diverse students and families," the ACRL said. 

Kinney had served on the school board for 12 years. 

The school board normally includes seven members – president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and three trustees. When a resignation happens, the board has 30 days to fill the vacancy, other board members said. The appointee will serve until the next regular school board election.