A groundswell of support for a Marion County, Tennessee, principal who ended up in hot water over a social media post about the Democratic presidential ticket will culminate in a support parade on Sunday in his hometown of Whitwell.
David Smith’s job as principal at Whitwell Elementary School is in limbo after a complaint was filed earlier this month with the state Department of Education over a social media post Smith made saying Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and running mate Sen. Kamala Harris were “The New Pad Party,” labeling Biden with “pee pads,” referring to his age, and Harris with “knee pads,” a sexual reference.
The post was taken down within minutes but not before some who read it voiced outrage.
Smith met with director of schools Mark Griffith on Aug. 16, issued a letter of apology and Griffith initially agreed to Smith’s request for a demotion from principal to an assistant principal position.
However, a complaint was filed with the state the next day that caused school board members to take the matter into closed session with the board’s attorney. Griffith said that means he can’t discuss the matter in much detail. On Thursday, Griffith said there had been no further action in the school board probe on Smith’s post.