Thursday’s meeting of the Columbia School Board saw a packed room and a bevy of speakers, the vast majority of whom were there to speak in support of a Columbia High School English teacher who resigned following an apparent suspension prompted by outrage to a post she made on social media.

The Facebook post from Mary Adams partially quotes conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who died Sept. 10 in a shooting on the campus of Utah Valley University, by saying “Empathy is a made up New Age term that does a lot of damage.”

Per the Monroe County IL News Facebook account – whose private Facebook group appears to have played a major role in drumming up backlash against Adams – another point of concern was a supposed “threat” Adams posted “after she was asked by a student to remove the out-of-context Kirk post.”

The alleged threat consisted of Adams changing her Facebook cover photo to a meme reading “If you mess with me you better run for your life because my husband is coming after you & Hell’s coming with him.”

Correspondence provided to the Republic-Times following an Freedom of Information Act request provides further insight into Adams’ suspension and resignation.

An email from Columbia Superintendent of Schools Chris Grode to the district’s Board of Education email dated the morning of Sept. 16 notes Grode had been in contact with Adams about her social media post and had suspended her with pay until the Sept. 18 board meeting.

Adams sent Grode and CHS Principal Brian Reeves an email later that afternoon with a letter of resignation, which was ultimately accepted at the board meeting two days later.

“I have loved my 25 years in the district, and I treasure all of the relationships I’ve made with students, parents and colleagues,” Adams wrote. “Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to work in multiple buildings, earn both AP English Language and AP English Literature accreditation and for teacher of the month five times over. It’s been my priority for 25 years, and I look forward to now being able to prioritize my own family.”

Also in the district correspondence, Adams provided a timeline of events from her perspective at the request of Grode.

On Sept. 10, she posted a screenshot of the Kirk quote “for friends only on my private page,” further noting she didn’t know he had passed away and that she didn’t write any of her own commentary.

On Sept. 11, a former student – identified in other correspondence as Austin Arzola – commented on an old post made by a mutual Facebook friend of theirs. Adams said she had previously commented on that post that “AA would always have a special place in my heart.”

Arzola’s comment, per Adams, spoke about her in the third person and did not mention the Kirk quote. In her timeline of events, Adams doesn’t indicate whether or not Arzola’s post was expressly negative about her, though she does note she didn’t reply and blocked him.

Adams further clarified she didn’t have any real-time interactions with Arzola, adding she doesn’t recall having spoken with him since a 2013 classroom visit at Columbia Middle School.

Adams also adds that she “didn’t connect the commentary to my previous day’s post.”

On Sept. 12, she reposted a cover photo from Dec. 23, 2024, “that I’ve posted several times as a cover photo about how ‘my husband’ will defend me.”

She explained that this post pertains to an “ongoing financial issue with my husband’s family.”

Later in the morning of Sept. 12, Adams said Reeves spoke with her about the Kirk post.      Adams said she “knew it was best that I delete it” since she had found out about his passing.

Closing out her timeline of events, Adams noted she doesn’t recall when in the weekend she changed her cover photo again to a Halloween photo, though she expressed she often changes her Facebook cover photo.

Per the aforementioned correspondence from Grode to the board, Grode spoke more with Adams who reiterated the “husband post” wasn’t made because of the Kirk situation.

“I stated that one can see how given your posting of the quote on Wednesday, Thursday a negative interaction on a separate post from a previous student you admittedly blocked, posting this may seem like a threat to those who saw it,” Grode wrote. “She seemed to understand this.”

Additional correspondence between Grode and the board from Sept. 15 features Grode’s description of a conversation between he and Adams.

As Grode described, she posted the original quote after she heard he was shot but before she knew he had died and “feels terrible about the decision.” Grode further noted Adams doesn’t agree with Kirk politically and agrees she shouldn’t have made the post to begin with.

Grode continued by saying no one asked her to take the post down, though she initially thought about it when she found out about his death, hoping instead the post would just be forgotten. She willingly took it down when Reeves shared with her that people were upset about the post.

Grode said Adams reported that no one had requested she take the post down.

He further informed her that Monroe County IL News had “drawn the narrative that she posted a comment from Charlie Kirk regarding Empathy, that a student asked her to take it down and not only did she refuse but she then posted a statement about her husband coming to get you if you come after her.” 

He notes that she denied this story.

The conversation between the two of them also touched on her frustration “that teachers post online that our Governor is a Fat Ass and nothing is done about it,” to which Grode replied that he would speak to them if the post was made “after the governor died of a coronary,” that he doesn’t look at people’s social media and only addresses what comes to him and that the issue arose after an individual’s death and thus was in poor taste, points to which they both agreed.

In response to Grode’s recounting of their conversation, Columbia School Board Member Andrea Khoury sent an email to him suggesting Adams was “misleading/lying to you,” further suggesting Adams changed her cover photo on the same day she quoted Kirk.

Khoury expressed her distaste for Adams’ post, saying, “Her logic that he may have only been mortally wounded, but not dead (yet) is why she thought it OK to post on social media? And to pick a snippet of his statement to serve her personal feeling? She is so reckless and perverse.”

Khoury continued, “If she thinks her opinion is so important…. And she’s sincere, then maybe she should apologize for her terrible choices on the same platform?? [sic]”

She again suggested that Adams lied in her recounting, saying “I don’t believe her that some other student/individual didn’t also voice concern about it what she posted.”

Khoury further noted Adams seems to have made the post during school hours.

She concluded her email, “I feel she needs professional consequences. At a minimum, written warning for conduct unbecoming of a (high school) teacher. She may be tenured, but she’s not teflon. I’ve thought and rewritten this reply a few times today. Just incredibly bad appearance for the district, and that is helping to fuel my personal disgust at her decisions.”

Additional correspondence acquired via FOIA concerns requests from members of the community that Adams be terminated or reprimanded.

One such email came from Alex Distler to Grode, demanding her termination due to her post, as he erroneously said, “justifying the execution of Charlie Kirk.”

Distler further suggests that Adams misrepresented Kirk’s quotes “to promote political violence,” arguing this “disqualifies her from the critical role of educating and leading children.”

Another email came from Tara Masidonski and was directed to both the board email and Columbia School Board President Greg Meyer.

Masidonski included a screenshot of Adams’ Kirk quote post as well as her cover photo post.

In the email, she goes on to describe Adams’ post as “hateful, threatening words that created quite the negative stir towards our district.”

She further spoke about accountability and “the example we set for the next generation,” noting the influence teachers have on their students.

Masidonski also said “this is not about silencing anyone’s opinion, but rather about maintaining professionalism and modeling the values we expect to see in the classroom.”

Meyer responded to this email, saying he agrees that politics should be kept out of school.

“If a student knows their teacher’s political views, I believe that teacher has failed in their professional responsibility,” Meyer said. “One of the reasons I chose to run for the board was because of my concern over retribution against students or families for exercising their right to free speech. My own children have graduated, so my only focus now is on what is best for the district.”

Thursday evening, the board opened the floor to public comment early in the meeting, with Grode speaking just before.

“As most people know, there’s been quite a bit of discussion regarding the Columbia School District and social media,” Grode said. “These situations are difficult, because we do not speak about personnel or student issues, and with the absence of any comment, that void often gets filled with opinions and conjecture.

“Our schools do a very good job of separating politics and education. We know that freedom of speech stops at the schoolhouse doors. Our employees and our students, we’re all human. That means we all have our own individual opinions, and, in our nation, we have the freedom of speech for those opinions. Most importantly, though, when we disagree, we need civil discourse. That’s key. When our students, our employees, when we violate that and a disruption in school is realized, we do address it.”

Meyer also addressed the crowd following public comment, thanking and encouraging folks for sharing their opinions, noting the names of Kirk and many other political figures can evoke strong emotions both for and against and reiterating that “politics has no place in our classrooms.”

“Our responsibility is to provide a safe, supportive and respectful learning environment for every student, no matter what their background, beliefs or viewpoint may be,” Meyer said. “We must remain focused on what unites us, preparing our students to think critically, to be kind to one another and make them responsible citizens. That’s our mission, and it’s far too important to be overshadowed by partisan politics.”

Meyer further explained that, given federal and state law on board discussion of personnel matters, the board would be unable to offer information on Adams, her suspension and her departure.

He did note her departure was not the result of board action or direction, adding “the board has no legal authority to force a resignation or fire without due process.”

Two school board members, Naureen Frierdich and Kelly Meurer, did not attend Thursday’s meeting.

Throughout the public comment portion of the meeting, a dozen individuals approached the board to discuss the matter of Adams’ departure from the district, with all but one speaking in support of her, praising her contributions to CHS and defending her conduct.

Among those individuals were district parents, current and former CHS students and others from in and out of the community.

First to speak was Dana McClane, who was immediately followed by Molly McClane.

Dana shared a letter from a Jaime Miers, who spoke about how well she worked with her child, a senior at CHS.

“I know first-hand that this teacher cares deeply for her students and very much wants them to learn and be successful in her class and in life,” Dana said. “This teacher has a right to express her opinion on her private, personal Facebook page. Political speech is protected by our constitution, and it doesn’t matter who agrees or disagrees with what is said.”

Miers, in her letter, further spoke about Adams’ lack of political talk in the classroom and the end of her lengthy career in the district as well as the impact Adams’ departure would have on CHS AP courses.

Molly spoke about her experiences as a senior in one of Adams’ AP classes and noted how concerned she is for her future.

“I believe I can speak on behalf of my peers when I say that we are left with hurt hearts, essays we can no longer write, projects we can no longer turn in and, most importantly, an abandoned English education due to social media,” Molly said. “No matter how this will be resolved, the situation will affect Mrs. Adams, my peers and me for the rest of our lives, while it may only affect you for a week.”

Next to speak was Emily Velnosky, who was followed by student Jonah Velnosky.

Emily likewise spoke highly of Adams as a parent of one of her students, with much of her speech focusing on the matter of cyberbullying.

“Heartbreakingly, now one of the last lessons my son who is a senior will learn here is the consequences of cyberbullying that are very real and, for him, very painful,” Emily said. “He’s lost not only his trusted teacher Mrs. Adams, but, beyond not having a class with his favorite teacher, he will have to dramatically change his plans for how he’s going to prepare for college right in the middle of his senior year.”

Jonah shared some words from his peers, noting many asked to remain anonymous.

He particularly shared the words of one of his peers who described how it has felt to lose such a teacher.

“As I walked into our class today, there was such an eerie emptiness about the room. Nothing had changed except for the fact that Mrs. Adams and every trace of her had vanished overnight,” Jonah said. “The severe lack of joyfulness that was once plentiful haunted the room. It hurt. It hurt a lot.”

Gabriel James spoke next. A college freshman, he spoke about how he was a student of Adams for two years.

He lamented the loss his siblings and other younger students will feel with Adams’ departure, further speaking against censorship.

“For many students, Mrs. Adams’ classroom was a safe space,” James said. “Additionally, she went to great lengths to ensure that the classroom was a place of utmost inclusivity and to avoid impressing her political views upon us. I believe that I owe a great deal of the development of my writing skills to her consistent guidance and encouragement.”

Monroe County resident Patrick Kelly followed, speaking somewhat briefly but expressing particularly strong opinions against Kirk in defense of Adams.

“I think it’s a shame that we’re here tonight,” Kelly said. “People are here to show you that our feelings are deep. What is wrong with a teacher quoting Charles Kirk using some of his own words?”

The next speaker was Carrie Clayton, who used her time to emphasize the loss to the high school and district, noting 13 administrators have left the district since 2012 alongside 34 teachers – not including retirements.

A district parent and former CHS teacher, she recounted an incident during her tenure where a student wrote her a letter saying “they hoped my ‘family was tortured and killed in front of me and that I would suffer for a long time.’”

Though principals took the matter seriously, the incident was ultimately considered “not a real threat,” and she had to work with the assistant principal and the student, electing to not press charges.

“There was no clear process, no chain of command and no consistent policy for handling threats,” Clayton said. “Fast forward to this last week. A far less serious situation was handled immediately with harsh consequences. Why was my written death threat dismissed when this week’s case escalated straight to the board? Where is the consistency? Where is the fairness?”

Clayton harkened back to her original point about student and administrator losses, suggesting these losses were due to a culture of “inconsistency and fear.”

Kelly Graves was the sole speaker to voice an opinion against Adams, though she expressed uncertainty about what exactly Adams had posted.

“I don’t know how I feel about her being forced to resign or fired,” Graves said. “It would depend on exactly what was said. She’s influenced a lot of our kids and hopefully in the right way.”

Kathy Harres spoke next. She spoke about Adams as a colleague and someone who had taught her grandkids.

“I know what the Facebook posts were, and I also know what Mrs. Adams’ explanation around those posts were,” Harres said. “What I don’t know is when the online Facebook harassment that included false accusations and outright lies began. When the bullying that continued up until a couple of days ago when there were veiled threats against any teacher who showed up here tonight, any person who showed up here tonight, that they would be watching, and they would know who it was… What I don’t know is why Mrs. Adams wasn’t afforded the respect she had earned as a veteran teacher of hundreds of students in this district.”

Recent graduate Kaelyn O’Brien also spoke in support of Adams. She offered a brief but emotional speech, recalling how some teachers at the school offered her support as she struggled with thoughts of self harm.

“Mrs. Adams was one of those teachers, and I don’t think that I will convince you any more than anyone else, but Mrs. Adams deserved to be here,” O’Brien said. “She was so qualified and so educated, and she taught me so much, and I hope that you all understand that this was an incredible mistake.”

Brenda Lanman also spoke, praising Adams like many others and arguing the board is not setting a good example in its conduct with Adams.

“Think about what you’re teaching our students,” Lanman said. “That they don’t have a right to their own opinion or to share that opinion because, if your employer doesn’t like it, they can fire you. That they now live in a country where suppression and censorship is the norm.”

Last to speak was Rune Flaum, who spoke positively about those present allowing folks to speak their mind – though they did recognize how some disruption took place during Graves’ speech.

“From what I’ve read about this teacher, from what I’ve learned about her from people who know her – including the people who spoke tonight – I think that you have made a mistake, and I hope that you’ll reconsider your opinion, because it sounds to me that you’ve lost an asset by making the decision that you have,” Flaum said.

Following public comment, the board approved Adams’ resignation as part of the consent agenda.

Additionally, during a special meeting mainly to approve the budget for the school year Sept. 22, the board also approved a replacement for Adams’ position who is expected to be able to teach the AP classes.

For news on other action and discussion among the Columbia School Board, read next week’s issue of the Republic-Times.

To watch a video of Thursday’s board meeting, click here.