LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Clark County School District Trustee is facing backlash over comments she posted on social media over the weekend.
Many of the posts made by CCSD Trustee Katie Williams, who has been on the board for 3 years, are being described by teachers as "inappropriate" as well as "derogatory and hurtful."
Her comments mentioned the ongoing battle over contract negotiations between the District and CCEA, which represents more than 12,000 valley teachers.
In the post, Williams recommends that teachers "go to therapy" if they're upset about what she referred to as "the CCSD/CCEA debacle."
In response to the posts, Leonard Lither, who is a CCSD teacher and parent, says, "I do feel her comments have been inflammatory.. one of her last [hashtags] was 'eat me.' How is that appropriate?"
Lither adds, "In this case, she's 100% being part of the problem."
And Lither isn't the only one speaking out about the posts. Channel 13 has received emails and comments expressing concerns over having an elected official who they feel isn't advocating for students and teachers.
Williams currently represents District B, which covers the northern part of east Las Vegas. Lither says her primary focus should be "advocating for the students."
Channel 13 reached out to Williams about the comments and initially received this response, saying, "Ask them if they understand how the internet works. #noregrets."
Williams then replied directly to some of our questions, saying in part that people are allowed to have their own opinions. She went on to say that she's been "harassed constantly" and that if the issue is "that bad then the Democratic system of voting politicians in and out can be used."
Here is the full statement Trustee Williams sent to Channel 13:
"I think it's disingenuous for people who only watch me from SM and have never reached out to me personally think they get to dictate what I post regardless of my title. I'm actually really easy to pin down as far as my location. Everyone knows the board schedule. I've been harassed constantly and have restraining orders and protective orders against a few people who don't even live in the district anymore. I'm not afraid of these people and recognize this comes with the territory. What this points to is a larger problem of people not being able to or being afraid to have a civil discourse. If they have an issue that bad then they can use the democratic system of voting in and out politicians. But it won't solve their problems if they never learn how the system works in the first place."
"I would like respect and especially I don't feel like I'm getting that from her," Lither told Channel 13.
Channel 13 also reached out to CCSD about the tweets.
The district says it is not responsible for what a trustee posts online, though they do have to include disclaimers making it clear that "they are not associated with the district's communications team."
