Natrona County School District’s Board of Trustees Chairman Kevin Christopherson is apologizing for a social media post he made that characterized the local Moms for Liberty group as “moms for tyranny.”
Christopherson made his apology Monday night at the end of the Natrona County School District’s board meeting after a Casper resident read the post during the public comment part of the meeting.
The social media post made earlier this month endorsed four people for whom Christopherson supported in the upcoming school board election and called on voters to reject four others, including members of the Moms for Liberty Natrona County chapter.
Two members of the group sit on the board, and Christopherson referred to them as being “unhelpful” as the board does its business.
Christopherson said the post was meant to be “private.”
The post came to light when Casper resident Michelle St. Louis quoted it when she took the microphone for her 3-minute comment session while Christopherson sat close by at the board table at Kelly Walsh High School in Casper.
“Hey all, as you may know I am the chairman of the Natrona County School Board. I need your help,” Christopherson’s post reads. “We currently have two Moms for Liberty on the board and to put it nicely they are not helpful.
“The person they take orders from is running for a seat along with a slate of puppets. And if they manage to take control, well it will be terrible for the district and the kids.”
St. Louis said she would not read the names of those Christopherson urged people not to vote for or those he wanted them to vote for.
‘Don’t Share This Post’
A copy of the post shows that Christopherson advised those who received it to: “Please Do NOT!!! Vote for Sarah Bieber, Renea Redding, Shianne Huston or Albert Hall.” He wrote that his votes were going for “Kyla Alvey, Debbie McCullar, Dana Howie, Alex Petrino and Thea True Wells.”
“Thank you and please pass these names along to your friends but please don’t share this post, as I need to work with any that get elected, and the ‘moms for tyranny’ are angry enough already,” he wrote.
St. Louis questioned whether it was “tyranny” to “keep porn out of the library,” academic standards high or ensure district spends its funds to benefit children “and not administration.”
Local resident Sandra England also called out the social post as unethical.
“If a board member cannot stay neutral and work with other board members, they should step away allowing another to fill the position who can abide by the code of ethics,” she said. “Every school board member is elected by the voters for a reason, to guide educational policy concerning our children so they can become productive members of society.
“In closing I’ll advise: A. Keep it clean and B. Learn to play in the sandbox together.”
State Rep. Jeanette Ward, R-Casper, also took time to call out the post, saying it was “extremely unprofessional, unethical and potentially illegal” for him to identify himself as the school board president and then make his choices known.
“The board president should know that any post on social media is public,” she said. “Those accusing other adults of incivility should perhaps look in the mirror.”
Casper resident Jaime Lane said she supports the right to free speech, but that Christopherson may have violated the school board’s ethics policy and questioned whether the district’s policy against “harassment, bullying and intimidation” also applies.
Removal Request
She said she emailed Christopherson’s post to all the board members and got a reply from one of Christopherson’s friends.
“I emailed the board, and I received your response, but it wasn’t from any of you, but from his friend who had my private email,” she said. “So I ask you, did this chair also share a private matter that came to the board, prior to the board having the opportunity to deal with it? And I would like legal to look into that and I would be happy to bring my own legal representation to do so.”
Lane called for Christopherson to be removed as chairperson of the board.
“A true leader is one who listens to all sides, thoughts, and ideas while removing their own emotions or bias,” she said. “The chair is not behaving in a manner that creates an inclusive unified front for the parents, teachers, school administration or the students.”
During board comments, Trustee Kyla Alvey read her response to the issue, stating it was “unfortunate” the board asks students to “do and be better to each other” and “we struggle to work together and see the value in each of our talents and opinions.”
Alvey said the issue did not involve just one or two board members but “all of us who delight in contention.” The board needs to focus on “connection” instead, she said.
“We are not expected nor can each of us individually be well versed in every single thing that keeps this wheel moving but we each have specialties, knowledge that helps in specific situations,” she said. “I only ask that as a community, you give us the ability to work it out amongst ourselves. The added pressure and contention of picking sides and adding fuel to an already building fire doesn’t help.”
Trustee Mary Schmidt, one of the two board members referred to by Christopherson, said she believed everyone has right to “view things as they see fit” and “support candidates that they feel they can support.”
“I just hope they can do it in a professional manner and we can look at disputes and disagreements as an intellectual exercise and not as a personal vendetta,” she said. “I hope from this point on we can be more professional.”
An Apology
Christopherson initially apologized to the two trustees he criticized in his post — Schmidt and Jenifer Hopkins.
He also said the post came from a place of being “passionate when it comes to kids” and compared himself to former President Donald Trump.
“If I see something I don’t like, I say it and that’s been one of my faults that I share with my favorite president, Trump,” he said. “Because I don’t have a filter and some things get out there. I did it as a private post, unsharable, to my private friends, and like an idiot it got out there. I apologize to Jenifer and Mary.”
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
