The Ellsworth Community School District was forced into a national controversy with a post by a staff member last week regarding the assassination of conservative activist and influencer Charlie Kirk, who co-founded Turning Point USA.
Kirk was assassinated while speaking Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 10, at an event at Utah Valley University. Tyler Robinson, 22, a Utah native, was arrested for the shooting late Sept. 11.
In Wisconsin and nationally, there has been a wave of terminations of staff members at institutions and businesses who made negative comments about the shooting on social media, with other accounts pressing for firings.
The Ellsworth School District has been pressured on social media for the last several days to terminate Ellsworth High School math teacher Krista Lesiecki, who started teaching in the district in 2023. Congressman Derrick Van Orden, who represents western Wisconsin in Congress, has even threatened taking away federal funding if she’s not terminated.
Following the Kirk assassination, Lesiecki posted of Kirk, “He said deaths are worth it for the second amendment. He spewed hate.
“I disagree with his comment and essentially everything he stood for. But if you liked what he stood for, then you can’t be upset that he died. He fulfilled his destiny.”
Leseicki was responding to a post on hindustandtimes.com. It referred to Kirk’s 2023 comments:
“We must be honest with the population. Having an armed citizenry comes with a price, and that is part of liberty. Driving comes with a price. 50,000, 50,000, 50,000 people die on the road every year. That's a price. You get rid of driving, you'd have 50,000 less auto fatalities. But we have decided that the benefit of driving - speed, accessibility, mobility, having products, services - is worth the cost of 50,000 people dying on the road. So we need to be very clear that you're not going to get gun deaths to zero. It will not happen. You could significantly reduce them through having more fathers in the home, by having more armed guards in front of schools. We should have a honest and clear reductionist view of gun violence, but we should not have a utopian one.
“You will never live in a society when you have an armed citizenry and you won't have a single gun death. That is nonsense. It's drivel. But I am, I think it's worth it. I think it's worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational. Nobody talks like this. They live in a complete alternate universe.
“So then, how do you reduce? Very simple. People say, oh, Charlie, how do you stop school shootings? I don't know. How did we stop shootings at baseball games? Because we have armed guards outside of baseball games. That's why. How did we stop all the shootings at airports? We have armed guards outside of airports. How do we stop all the shootings at banks? We have armed guards outside of banks. How did we stop all the shootings at gun shows? Notice there's not a lot of mass shootings at gun shows, there's all these guns. Because everyone's armed. If our money and our sporting events and our airplanes have armed guards, why don't our children?”
Ellsworth School District Superintendent Brian Nadeau said Monday afternoon that he can’t comment, on advice of school district counsel, on whether or not Lesiecki has been placed on administrative leave. He said the district is investigating the matter. He said his office ultimately will make a decision on Lesiecki’s future with the district.
“Essentially, it’s in my office. The school board will be apprised of the situation as in any personnel matter. If there were some sort of appeal, the school board would hear the appeal,” he said.
Nadeau posted a statement on the Ellsworth Community School District Facebook site Friday, Sept. 12, that as of Monday has been commented on by 433 users.
Nadeau’s statement:
“We are aware of the attention and concerns regarding a staff member's recent social media post. District administration is currently reviewing this matter in accordance with the District's policies and applicable rules. Please understand that this is a pending confidential personnel matter that must balance a fair outcome for students, the employee, and the District with possible legal ramifications. In order to discern the truth and produce a fair outcome, a thorough review takes time, which allows the District to maintain trust and confidence among employees and the community regarding its decision-making process Any further comment on an active investigation could impede the disciplinary process or provide incomplete information. We ask for your patience, understanding, and support as we seek to do what is right for our students and staff when handling confidential personnel matters.”
Under national scrutiny
The situation erupted early Friday afternoon after Lesiecki’s comments were posted on X by conservative sites. A post by “Libs of TikTok” on X posted on Friday afternoon: “Teacher at Ellsworth Community School District in Wisconsin
‘He spewed hate. You can’t be upset that he died.’
“Imagine this person teaching your kids.”
The post had more 800,000 views as of Monday afternoon.
Van Orden posted on X in response to the Libs of TikTok post Saturday morning:
“I represent Ellsworth in Congress. It’s a beautiful town full of wonderful people, except this one.
“I will be working to remove all federal funding, including grants and community directed projects for the entire city of Ellsworth unless this is rectified immediately.”
Van Orden toured construction underway at Ellsworth schools last month.
Lesiecki stepped down in another district
Lesiecki left her job in the Homestead School District (Mequon-Thiensville School District) after nearly 18 years in 2015. She had been placed on administrative leave after an incident involving a student and her parents, according to Milwaukee television news reports. A letter was sent out by the district to parents. “WISN 12 News heard reports that the incident in question was an argument between Lesiecki and a student” about the student’s grade, the station reported.
The district investigated the matter and placed her on administrative leave in November 2015. She resigned a month later and was reportedly paid through the end of the school year.
