Racial incident at West Port: 3 students face discipline after taunts while waving Confederate flags

Others could be disciplined based on social media activity

Three West Port High School students who taunted classmates on Thursday by waving Confederate flags during school will be disciplined, according to Marion County School District officials.

West Port High School Principal Jayne Ellspermann said moments after the white students — two boys and a girl — began taunting, an argument ensued and one black female student threw a punch at the taunters. Within a few minutes, teachers and the school's resource officer broke up the disturbance, which at that point was almost entirely verbal.

“Poor decisions of a few of our students led to this,” said Ellspermann, adding that she was pleased with the quick response from staff to keep things from escalating.

Ellspermann, who was the nation's principal of the year in 2014, said social media after the fact is now the biggest problem.

By late Thursday night, and all day Friday, posts on Facebook have portrayed the incident as a race riot. School staff are looking into reports of related videos on Facebook.

Ellspermann said that many more students, who are escalating the situation on Facebook, will be disciplined by the time their investigation is completed.

Some people may argue that the students have freedom of speech when it comes to Facebook postings, or even for waving the Confederate flags. The district says that is not the case if those actions are causing a disruption at school.

For example: If an after-school Facebook post indicates that one person will do harm to another student at school, the district can act and impose a suspension because the actions could disrupt school.Marion County Public Schools spokesman Kevin Christian said the flag-waving students' prime objective was to disrupt school. And for that, they can be disciplined.

“It was a planned, calculated incident,” Christian said. “They were trying to solicit a reaction.”

One West Port High parent, Erika Boone, has a freshman attending the school. She had heard rumors of race riots and called the Star-Banner. Once she was contacted, she said she had since found out that the situation was handled properly at West Port, but wished she would have known about it.

“They should have called all the parents,” said Boone, specifically talking about the district's automated calling system.

The Ocala Police Department issued the female student who threw a punch a citation in lieu of arrest, Christian said on Friday.

Racial incident at West Port: 3 students face discipline after taunts while waving Confederate flags