Teacher fired after tweets

A Texas teacher was fired Friday, one
week after sending racially charged tweets about
incidents in Ferguson, Missouri.
Vinita Hegwood said in a statement that she was
"reacting to a series of threatening and racist
attacks" made against her and her "expressed
opinions on Ferguson, Missouri," when she wrote
on November 7, "Who the (expletive) made you
dumb (expletive) crackers think I give a squat
(expletive) about your opinions. #Ferguson Kill
yourselves."
Later that evening another tweet appeared,
saying, "You exhibit nigga behavior, I'm a call you
a nigga. You acting crackerish, I'm a call you a
cracker." Hegwood is African-American.
Ferguson became a flash point in the debate over
race after the August 9 shooting death of Michael
Brown, an unarmed black teenager, by
Darren Wilson, a white police officer.
The fatal shooting sparked a series of
protests in the St. Louis suburb. A
grand jury is expected to decide soon
whether Wilson will face charges.
Teacher suspended after Ferguson
tweets
Hegwood, whom the school district
suspended on Monday, submitted her
resignation Thursday, accepting
responsibility for the tweets that she
said were sent "emotionally and
impulsively."
The Duncanville Independent School
District's seven-member board
declined to accept her resignation and
instead voted to terminate her , district
spokeswoman Lari Barager said.
District employees do have the right to
free speech, Barager said, but
Hegwood's comments were so
egregious, the school was left with "no
other option."
Hegwood, an English teacher, was in
her second year at Duncanville High
School near Dallas.
She apologized for any embarrassment
her actions may have caused the
district.
"My reaction in no way reflects the
standards to which I have held myself
and my students for the last 20 years
of teaching," she said.
Hegwood did not immediately respond to CNN's
calls and emails seeking comment.