Posted on 08/20/2010 1:22:15 PM PDT by ThreeYearLurker
Beaverton middle school teacher Jason Levin, who founded the now notorious "Crash the Tea Party" website, is no longer a teacher.
Jason Levin Levin resigned Wednesday in lieu of termination, said Beaverton School District Legal Counsel Camellia Osterink.
District officials would not say why Levin was facing dismissal, but that it followed an internal investigation into his use of public resources and time spent at school.
"There was some question whether that conduct occurred during the work day," Osterink said of Levin's work on the website.
Reached today, Levin said, "My attorney has advised me not to comment."
His attorney, Adam Arms of Portland, could not be immediately reached.
Levin, a media lab technology teacher at Conestoga Middle School, drew international attention last spring after creating crashtheteaparty.org. The now defunct site had said it was part of a national movement to "dismantle and demolish the tea party by any nonviolent means necessary."
The site encouraged people to infiltrate the tea party, then misspell protest signs, make wild claims during interviews and perform other public actions that would damage the public's opinion of the tea party.
Hundreds of e-mails and calls streamed into the district in April from as far away as Chile, some calling for Levin's removal and questioning his fitness to teach. District spokeswoman Maureen Wheeler said at the time that Levin's political views were not part of the investigation.
District officials placed Levin on paid administrative leave in mid-April but returned him to the classroom about two weeks later after determining he was not a threat to students, said Sue Robertson, chief human resources officer.
But the investigation continued and concluded the week before school let out for the summer with a recommendation to dismiss Levin, Robertson said. He was placed on paid administrative leave for the final week of classes.
The school board planned to consider his dismissal on Wednesday when they received word that he had resigned. Levin, who has a master's degree in instructional technology education, had just finished his third year with the district.
It's not over for Levin yet. The Teacher Standards and Practices Commission, which oversees teacher licensing, is continuing its investigation into possible neglect of duty, said Melody Hanson, director of professional practices.
Despite his resignation, the agency can revoke or suspend his license, issue a public reprimand or keep him from reapplying for a license in the future.
One down .. only god knows how many more to go.
remain vigilant .. they hate the TEA party and since we are not racists they will do anything to make us look so.
There should be a national registry of sorts, where we could track people like this and make sure he doesn’t try to go to Texas, for example, and start over after he loses his teaching certificate in Oregon!
Next stop...flipping burgers
He has become an instant martyr to the cause. He will land something on Joy “fishmonger” Behar or one of those zero loving shows.
Hollywood calling?
What I was thinking too.
I'd say the School Board made a good decision on this one.
That was brilliant stuff. I remember laughing so hard over a couple of days that my sides were sore.
In other words he encouraged them to act like left wing liberal loonies who are always carrying misspelled protest signs, cursing like drunken sailors, and engaging in violence when they protest.
So glad this man got his due. Now what about all the other educators we have who deserve the same?
Whatever you do don’t get on this guys radar...;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y_Wu36wIEM&feature=related
Don’t let the door hit you in the butt on the way out.
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