A Florida “Teacher of the Year” winner was suspended recently because of comments he made on his personal Facebook page that homosexuality is a sin. A former student apparently brought the comments to the attention of the Lake County School District, who then reassigned the teacher, Jerry Buell from Mount Dora High School, to an administrative post pending an investigation of the incident. According to The Christian Post, Buell told a local media outlet that he did not make the post “out of hatred,” but rather “about the way I interpret things.”
The district maintains a policy on social network use by its employees and faculty members stating that using social networking sites “creates the risk of affecting your professional career” and warns users to “conduct themselves in such a way that it does not adversely affect your employment and/or the District.” Supporters of Buell have created a Facebook page encouraging users to help Buell get his job back.
