Utah Teacher No Longer Employed with School District After Anti-Trump Tirade

Tuesday, a video of a teacher at Lehi High School went viral. The video was of Lehi High School chemistry teacher Leah Kinyon. The four-minutes of the teacher’s rant included her talking up the Covid Vaccine and demeaning former President Donald Trump.

The teacher was put on administrative leave Tuesday and today it was announced that she is no longer employed by the district after an investigation. Stacy Bateman, Lehi Rep Alpine School District Board of Education released the statement below on Facebook.

“Alpine School District has concluded our investigation of the incident that occurred on August 17, 2021, at Lehi High School. Although the details of a personnel investigation are confidential, the teacher involved is no longer an employee of Alpine School District”

It was made clear whether the teacher resigned from her position or if she was fired all that was said is she no longer works for the district. The Alpine School District officials noted in a statement, updated on Tuesday “This behavior is inappropriate, not reflective of the professional conduct and decorum we expect of our teachers, and will not be tolerated”

KSL reported on the video:

“The teacher begins by voicing her exhaustion with the pandemic and concern over coronavirus variants, saying she’d be proud if a student chose to get vaccinated. She then goes on to say she hates former President Donald Trump, adding that he “sucks,” and urges her students not to watch Fox News.

Utah County is one of the most conservative areas in the state.

In a statement that drew ire from people on social media, the teacher tells her students they don’t need to believe what their parents believe because “most of ya’ll parents are dumber than you.”

She later warns students in the video not to ask her about politics and says she “can go off on it” the whole class period, but that she’s not going to. She then adds that if students don’t believe in climate change, they should “get the hell out.”

When one student is heard giving a muffled response, she says: “That’s pathetic that you think that. You’re the problem with the world,” prompting laughter from class members.

The incident occurred as Utah continues to experience tension over whether controversial political ideas should be taught in school. The state has been undergoing a debate about critical race theory after members of the State Legislature urged the school board to ban its teaching this spring during an extraordinary session.”

The full video can be seen below. It is refreshing to see an outcome where the teacher wasn’t left in her position of authority over young minds and to see the push back from the local school district on the political tirade.