Community members protested at the Sacramento City Unified School District offices on Thursday after sixth-grade teacher Jeanine Rupert was reassigned from Phoebe Hearst Elementary School. During the protest, parents and students chanted “We want Rupert!” Rupert had removed old classroom carpet last May, revealing asbestos-containing tiles underneath. The district said the removal “did not cause a disturbance that would cause exposure to asbestos,” but she was still reassigned, according to KCRA.
Mark Henrikson, a teacher and protest organizer, said, “All she did was pull up a little bit of carpet,” and added, “The punishment of a sideways transfer is absolutely perplexing.” The school district told ABC10 that “Good teachers – just like all good people – can experience lapses in judgment and deserve a fair opportunity to atone, start over, and thrive in a new setting.”…