CHESHIRE, Conn. — Parents in Cheshire are still upset over a former educator's political rant that went viral. It ultimately led to her resignation, and police determined that no criminal charges would be filed.
Days following the presidential election, a video of Annie Dunleavy, a former special education teacher for Cheshire public schools, was posted on social media, which contained a political rant. She resigned a week later, but school parents still have questions.
“If a male student had sent a video like this or had posted this, my guess is that person would have been arrested,” Pam Salamone, a Cheshire resident said.
Cheshire parent Amy Bourden said she wants to address this so something like this doesn’t happen again.
“In this case, she resigned from her position,” Bourden said. “But I think the way it was handled, I don’t think the next teacher would resign, I think that they might stay and try to leverage the policies that are in place and not in place.”
Salamone said that with so much violence in the world, everything, even something like this, should be taken seriously.
“The quicker you handle this, the better your chances are at stopping something from happening,” Salamone said. “If they had misjudged this teacher with her real intent and her level of anger something could have happened.”
Cheshire superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Solan spoke to the parents Thursday regarding their concerns and questions - especially questions about why she wasn’t criminally charged.
“[The police] determine if people get arrested, the superintendent does not,” Dr. Solan said. “That’s not something that’s within my purview. She was not at school or any school on Monday and the idea that I might compromise students’ safety to protect our interest is insulting, frankly.”
Members of the Cheshire Board of Education encouraged the parents to email and call the State Board of Education because what happened to Dunleavy was out of the Cheshire Board's control.
Kaye Paddyfote is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at kpaddyfote@fox61.com. Follow her on X and Instagram.
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