Beaverton Deputy Superintendent Resigns In Wake Of Tweet Backlash

BEAVERTON, OR — A controversial retweet by Beaverton School District Deputy Superintendent Steve Phillips caused a social media storm among parents, alumni, and students — many of whom called for Phillips to be fired.

Beaverton superintendent Don Grotting on Monday issued an apology on behalf of the district following the revelation that Phillips, apparently sometime over spring break, retweeted a March 25 post by Mary Ann Mendoza, the mother of an Arizona police officer who was killed in 2014 by a drunk driver who also happened to be an undocumented Latino man.

In the original tweet, Mendoza claims "illegal aliens … are more dangerous than assault rifles and should be banned from our country."

Phillips was one of nearly 1,700 people to retweet Mendoza. He has since deactivated his Twitter account, and on Tuesday afternoon he resigned from his position with the Beaverton School District.

"Today, I have accepted the resignation of Deputy Superintendent Steve Phillips, effective immediately," Grotting wrote in a statement sent out at 5:15 p.m. "I want to reiterate my values, the values of our District and the Beaverton School Board. We recognize the value and worth of each and every one of our students we serve. We are committed to ensuring all students have every opportunity to reach their potential. We are committed to restoring trust in our community."

In his apology posted to Facebook at 5:15 p.m. April 16, Grotting said, "The views expressed in a recent social media post and retweet by the Deputy Superintendent are not in keeping with the standards and values we hold as the Beaverton School District. The views are contrary to our deeply held values as expressed in our Strategic Plan and Pillars of Learning."

Mendoza's son, Mesa, Arizona, police officer Brandon Mendoza, was killed May 12, 2014, in a head-on collision with Raul Silva-Corona, who also died in the crash.

According to reports from 2014, Silva-Corona was driving the wrong way down the highway when he collided with Mendoza, who was on his way home from work. Silva-Corona's blood-alcohol content was 0.24 percent the night of the crash.

Since her son's death, Mendoza has become a staunch advocate of deporting undocumented migrants who commit crimes; and through her Twitter feed, Mendoza shares a mixed bag of humanist compassion, anti-immigration (which Mendoza says she is not), and support for President Donald Trump. In fact, the photo topping Mendoza's Twitter account shows her posing with Trump.

Mendoza argues that Silva-Corona should have been deported decades before the crash after being found guilty of crimes committed in Colorado in the 1990s. Prosecutors at the time knew Silva-Corona was undocumented but did nothing about it, Mendoza said.

"I am furious that the Federal Government allowed this criminal to stay in this country and KILL my son!" Mendoza wrote to then-President Barack Obama in 2014. "(Raul Silva-Corona) happened to be an illegal immigrant, was in this country illegally, convicted of previous crimes, no Social Security number, no valid driver's license BUT he had purchased a vehicle and registered it to drive in Maricopa County Arizona."

In her March 25 tweet, Mendoza claims 12 Americans are killed by undocumented immigrants every day. This statistic has been used as an argument since a U.S. representative from Iowa wrote on his website how much safer America would be with even just one day without immigrants.

"The lives of 12 U.S. citizens would be saved who otherwise die a violent death at the hands of murderous illegal aliens each day," Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) wrote on May 5, 2006. "Another 13 Americans would survive who are otherwise killed each day by uninsured drunk driving illegals."

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), King claimed to have gotten his data from a study by Congress' nonpartisan General Accounting Office, which King said showed 28 percent of inmates held in various local, state, and federally-run facilities were undocumented, criminal immigrants.

The SPLC clarified, however, that the General Accounting Office actually showed "28 percent of all federal prisoners (federal prisoners make up 12 to 17 percent of the total incarcerated population in the U.S.) were either legal or illegal immigrants."

"The study did not distinguish between legal and illegal immigrants," the SPLC said in 2010. "It also stated that about 50 percent of those immigrants were only charged with being in the country illegally, a federal misdemeanor. Just 12 percent of the total in federal custody were there for murder, rape, robbery or other violent crimes.

If the statistic was truly accurate, the SPLC said, "that would mean undocumented immigrants, who make up under 4 percent of the U.S. population, were responsible for 53 percent of all murders."

According to the Beaverton School District, the third largest school district in Oregon, 52 percent of all its students identify as non-white. The district does not, however, ask students to list their documentation status as part of its registration requirements.

"We recognize the value and worth of each and every one of our students who come through our doors," Grotting wrote on April 16. "We are committed to ensuring all students have every opportunity to reach their potential. Our staff work hard every day to support our wonderfully diverse students and families, and we are committed to learning from our mistakes and continuing this work."

Beaverton School District officials have called Phillips' retweet a "mistake," but have not indicated there are any plans to terminate his employment.

The school district's board also shared its statement on the controversial tweet Tuesday afternoon.

Board members Anne Bryan, Becky Tymchuk, Tom Colett, Eric Simpson, Susan Greenberg, Donna Tyner, and LeeAnn Larsen unanimously reaffirmed their commitment to four specific principals outlined in the Resolution in Support of Immigrant Students and Families, adopted Dec. 12, 2016.

In the resolution, the board directed all district staff to:

1. Treat all students equitably in the receipt of all school services, including but not limited to the free and reduced lunch program, transportation, counseling, and educational instruction;
2. Create and nurture an inclusive and welcoming environment for all students, families, and staff;
3. Incorporate the voice and perspectives of students, families and communities that reflect student demographics into decisions that benefit student success;
4. Comply with ORS 181A.820(1) by refusing to use District resources for the purpose of detecting or apprehending persons whose only violation of law is that they are persons of foreign citizenship present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws.

The Board unanimously reaffirms our commitment to these principles and values and holds itself accountable to these expectations for behavior. We recognize the strength of our community and our collective power in helping all students succeed regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, citizenship, marital status, age, veterans’ status, genetic information, disability, familial status, appearance or source of income.

Not entirely satisfied with apologies and commitments to respect students, self-described activist Sal Castañeda started a change.org petition demanding Phillips' removal from the Beaverton School District.

Share in English and Spanish, Castañeda wrote:

Beverton [sic] School District (BSD) Deputy Superintendent Steve Phillips' decision to publicize his xenophobic and anti-undocumented views are grounds for dismissal from BSD.

Should BSD decide to retain Phillips, the district will be viewed by the community, staff, and students as condoning the dangerous anti-immigrant narrative: that xenophobia and racism are simply differences of opinion.

BSD must message to the community that it truly believes in a diverse and inclusive school district free of discrimination, and removing Steve Phillips would send that message.

Initiated Monday night, the petition had more than 500 of its 1,000-signature goal by 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Image via Shutterstock / j_jeera