Public commenter alleges wrongful firing and religious discrimination of second-grade teacher

Sydney Earles used the board's public-comment period to allege the wrongful termination of her mother, second-grade teacher Jennifer Earles. Earles said her mother was directed to go home on Jan. 12, 2026 after a licensing issue surfaced and that, within hours, calls began leading to termination actions.

"This leads me to believe that my mom was fired for religious discrimination," Sydney Earles told the board, describing prior complaints about students being forced to pray and saying the district handled the matter differently for other staff who had licensing issues. Earles also said the staff email to employees characterized her mother's departure as "personal reasons," which she said conflicts with what she was told in conversations.

Before public comment, the board read its policy on public comment (Board Policy BDDH) and reminded speakers that the board will not hear complaints concerning individual district personnel during the public-comment period and that it does not respond during public comment. The policy language was read into the record; staff noted the board may nevertheless use information provided during future decisions but would not adjudicate personnel matters in that forum.

The board did not take action during the meeting. The allegations named specific district staff (two administrators referenced in the comment) and raised questions about consistency of process; no administrative response or investigation update was offered during the public session.