Parent raises concerns about teacher social media, speech and classroom conduct at Houston County school board meeting

Lehi Hess, who identified herself to the board as a parent and as a descendant of a Holocaust survivor, used the board's public-comment time at the Oct. 14 meeting to urge the Houston County Board of Education to address what she described as problematic social-media activity and partisan or hateful speech by some school staff.

Hess said she spoke from a personal and family history background and argued that "the purpose of learning history is so you don't repeat it," framing her remarks with references to fascism and the suppression of dissenting voices. She said teachers had "looked the other way" when students reported discriminatory or harassing behavior, and alleged that she was personally targeted by a staff member who lodged false claims against her family.

Direct quotes from her remarks include: "History matters." "The purpose of learning history is so you don't repeat it." "You either need to allow your teachers the same level of freedom of expression or begin to punish those that perpetuate misinformation and hate on their own time."

Hess criticized what she described as inconsistent tolerance for staff speech and urged the district to take a consistent approach to off-duty conduct if it also permits staff political expression. She referenced national figures and charged that some staff had openly shared partisan or extreme content on social media; she said that behavior had been tolerated in her experience.

The transcript records no board response or subsequent action on the matters Hess raised during the Oct. 14 meeting.