During a meeting on 2 April, a member of the Washington County, Tennessee, Board of Education made an inappropriate comment towards a student seated next to him.
While the interaction was met only with laughter during the meeting, parents became very concerned and have since called for his removal.
Thus far, the Change.org petition has received just over 3,100 signatures.
The board meeting was streamed onto YouTube, with the controversial interaction occurring at around 1:16:00 into the recording.
Keith Ervin, seated to the student’s right, can be seen reaching out his hand to touch her on the shoulder to get her attention.
“God, you’re hot,” he said to her. “You know that?”
He then reaches over to her far shoulder, pulling her in. Ervin follows this up by asking her where she goes to school.
The room laughs lightly at the interaction before the meeting continues as if nothing happened.
Not long after the meeting, a petition was made seeking to fire Keith Ervin and Jerry Boyd, the Washington County Schools Superintendent.
“During a public meeting, I witnessed an incident that no parent, student, or community member should ever have to experience,” the petition said.
It goes on to allege that this is not the first time Keith Ervin has been in trouble for inappropriate behaviour.
Source: Change.org
“Despite previous incidents, he maintained his position, raising questions about the accountability and integrity of those in power within our education system,” it continued.
The petition currently sits at 3,177 signatures at the time of writing.
According to WSMV, the Washington County Board of Education scheduled an emergency meeting for 8 April.
The board said that Keith Ervin had made a “grossly inappropriate comment” toward the student board member.
Ervin, meanwhile, told the media that his comment was taken out of context. He claimed that he was simply complimenting her on her questions.
The 8 April meeting is expected to consider censuring Ervin.
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Featured image adapted from Change.org and Washington County,TN BOE on YouTube.