Katie Nash says she was not given any explanation for her termination.
Frederick, Md. (KM) It was one tweet which cost a former Frederick County School System employee her job. Speaking Wednesday on WFMD’s “Morning News Express With Bob Miller,” Katie Nash recounted how on Thursday, January 5th, a student sent her a tweet, asking that school be closed tomorrow because of inclement weather in the forecast. The word “tomorrow” was spelled “tamarrow.” Nash responded “but then how would you learn to spell tomorrow.”
Nash, who was the Social Media Web Services Coordinator, said on the “Morning News Express” that the comment was not to be taken seriously. “Honestly, it was just meant in jest, and the students look at it this way. You have those of us who just thought it was funny. And you have an older population that like ‘absolutely, you should correct.'”
After that incident, Nash says she was told not to send out messages on Twitter any longer. She says she was on the job on Monday, January 9th, when Superintendent Dr. Theresa Alban unveiled her budget. On Friday, January 13th, Nash says she was informed that she was being terminated. “They didn’t give me any reason,” said Nash. But she suspects it was due to the publicity that her tweet received over social media. “There was no criticism. There was no feedback negative or otherwise, that I wasn’t doing my job or anything. It really was, I believe, the attention that this one incident got, and I think that’s what ultimately led to my termination.”
The tweet went viral on social media.
Since she was let go, an online petition drive is underway to get Nash reinstated. “I wouldn’t want to go back to FCPS because I feel like, honestly, it’s toxic to back to a job you’ve been fired from,” she said. “Because they don’t want me there, then I don’t want to be there.”
But she has not ill will toward FCPS. “It’s an amazing system, and I do not want to do anything that would hurt that system, and I really wish them the best,” says Nash.
“I think there will be some really great lessons learned out of this, and I really think overall, we’ll come out a better school system because of it,” she says. “I’m not saying it doesn’t sting right now, but life goes on. I have a lot of opportunities ahead of me. I’ve received a great education. I’m a big girl and I can handle it.”
By Kevin McManus