Official says threats against teachers are becoming more common amid Arizona controversy

PHOENIX — An Arizona education official is issuing a warning about threats against teachers in the state, which she says have become more prevalent in recent years.

Arizona Education Association President Marisol Garcia spoke about the issue days after death threats were made against Arizona teachers in the Vail School District, southeast of Tucson, over a Halloween costume that went viral.

The shirts, which were shared in a since-deleted social media post, had fake blood on them and said ‘problem solved,’ which politicians and influencers claimed was mocking the death of Charlie Kirk, the Valley-based conservative activist who was assassinated during an event hosted by his Turning Point USA group in Utah in September.

However, the district said the shirts were simply a Halloween costume and had been worn the year before.

“The teachers involved care deeply about their students and this community,” Vail School District Superintendent said in an email to Tucson.com, the website for the Arizona Daily Star newspaper. “All of them are committed to protecting children, and none of them would intentionally cause hurt or pain. They too are truly sorry that this has caused concerns. The shirts will not be worn again.”

Arizona education official says social media is amplifying threats against teachers

Garcia said the backlash online after the costume was posted was based on misinformation and ultimately harmed the educators and students in the district.

“We knew that Monday would be almost like a slow day because kids are coming off the sugar rush (from Halloween),” she said. “Unfortunately, for this school district, because somebody decided to tweet out misinformation, this school district and every kid in that school district had a terrible day (Monday).”

Garcia said that for the state, threats against educators are not an unusual occurrence, citing the Red for Ed movement in 2018 that resulted in online discourse where threats were made about teachers.

“We had to help support teachers get cameras, and their tires were being slashed. They were getting spit on,” Garcia said. “It just continues to get amplified, and social media is not helpful at all.”

Garcia added that educators are leaving the profession because of the way the public is turning against them while they try to educate the next generation.

The politicalization of education in recent years could also be a factor in rising threats, with the privatization of some education turning the industry into a competition, according to Garcia.

To prevent incidents like the Oct. 31st post, Garcia is urging people to fact-check anything they post to prevent unnecessary threats to teachers and staff.

“Spend more time face-to-face with your neighbors, at the school, talking to the people who work there, and less time reacting to these terrible things that are said,” Garcia said. “And also, really take a break and ask, is this real information? Who is posting this? What is their interest?”

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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