Queen Creek school board member is under fire for social media posts

QUEEN CREEK, AZ (AZ Family) — East Valley school officials are embroiled in a social media controversy.

It surrounds posts made by a Queen Creek Unified School District school board member.

A group of district employees are outraged and say the posts about Vice President Kamala Harris are sexist and derogatory.

“I personally thought they were awful,” said Connie Romano, an administrative assistant in the district. “Degrading, misogynistic and horrible.”

School board member James Knox allegedly made the posts on his personal Facebook page, which is public and has more than 4,000 followers.

Romano describes them as “villains,” with some of the more crude posts implying that Harris did sexual favors to advance her career. Those posts have been deleted.

“Let’s be honest, she’ll never see those posts, but there are students in our community, there are young ladies who would think, ‘Is that his opinion of women?’ Is that what he thinks about women in power?” Romano said.

Knox is defending himself and said the posts do not reflect his work as a council member.

“They want to focus on a job we put in, here or there, rather than what really matters in our district. I think they are misdirected where they should be putting their energy,” Knox said.

The district’s social media policy states that posts must not contain content that could be considered discriminatory, harassing, or offensive based on race, gender, or religion.

However, this only applies to district employees, not school board members, who are elected.

“It will be up to the voters of Queen Creek to decide if this is someone they want to represent them on the school board,” Romano said.

The Queen Creek Unified School District sent a statement to the Arizona family.

“The statements referenced were made by a Board member who is not an employee of QCUSD, but an official elected by the voters of Queen Creek. While QCUSD has provided legal training regarding the use of social media and Board rules and protocols – and will continue to do so – we do not condone the messages in these social media posts or any form of political statements or speech. These comments do not represent the District or reflect its core values.”

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