Tuesday morning students at Rowan County Senior High School walked out of class in protest. It comes after new court documents were filed in a lawsuit against the school’s principal.
Last week the Louisville Courier-Journal reported that additional evidence had been entered into the civil suit against high school principal Jordan Mann and others. The filing included alleged text messages between Mann and former girls’ soccer coach Andrew Zaheri – who is now serving a federal prison sentence for production of child pornography. The allegations also include that Mann had been made aware of Zaheri’s behavior and failed to act on the knowledge.
Since that reporting, a petition to remove Mann from his position at the school has circulated, gathering hundreds of signatures. Tuesday morning dozens of students at the high school staged a walkout. In videos of the event on social media students can be heard chanting about Mr. Mann.
In a statement from the school district, officials said students performed a peaceful walkout to express their views on a topic that is important to them. They say school staff were present to ensure student safety during the event and quote “We respect our students’ right to free speech and civic engagement, and we recognize their desire to make their voices heard.”
The full statement is below.
This morning, a group of students participated in a peaceful walkout to express their views on an issue important to them. We respect our students’ right to free speech and civic engagement, and we recognize their desire to make their voices heard.
The walkout was conducted in a peaceful and orderly manner. School staff were present throughout to ensure all students remained safe and supervised during the event.
As a nation and a school community, we take pride in upholding the values of free expression and civil discourse. We are committed to supporting our students as they learn to engage with the world around them in thoughtful and constructive ways.
We appreciate the cooperation of our students and staff in ensuring the event proceeded safely and respectfully.
