Supporters, detractors of controversial District 96 schoolteacher pack school board meeting

Dozens packed Tuesday’s Kildeer Countryside School District 96 school board meeting, displaying sharply differing views over Twin Groves Middle School Spanish teacher and activist Carolyn Pinta.

A crowd easily in excess of 100 flocked to the meeting in the wake of Moms for Liberty's Lake County chapter flagging Pinta's posts following the killing of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and calling for her dismissal.

Screenshots showed Pinta, whose Pinta Pride Project has guided the annual Buffalo Grove Pride Parade and who founded the Buffalo Grove chapter of Moms Demand Action, responding to a post about Kirk's followers with comments comparing them to “young men in uniforms at a rally in the 30's” and stating Kirk “believed in the sacrificing of a few souls each year to keep his 2A rights.”

Pinta later clarified, “Of course, like most people in America who do social media, I did post about Charlie Kirk and did clearly state that he did not deserve to die. I vehemently disagree with everything he stood for, but gun violence is an issue.”

The public comment period split between opponents and supporters.

Parent Maria Neuhaus criticized Pinta as “a teacher in our district who once led a gun control chapter now celebrating the shooting of a young man” and accused her of using her platform to harass and intimidate parents in the community.

Rachel Sapozhnikov, whose family members died in the Holocaust, said she was “outraged and appalled” that Pinta would “imply that parents and students like me simply agreeing with Charlie Kirk are Nazis.”

Highland Park resident Suzanne Wahl said, “We're parents. We're not Nazis.” She said, “32% of your constituents right here in this area voted for the current president.”

However, supporters defended Pinta's character and contributions to the community, as well as her right to speak.

“This is about freedom of speech. It should have no relevance on her position as a teacher,” parent Dariusz Chmielewski said. “We should cherish the fundamental right that we have as citizens to freedom of speech.”

Wheeling Township Elementary District 21 school board member Arlen Gould, a grandparent of District 96 children, shared that his grandson called to express support for Pinta, saying “we really like that teacher.” Gould praised Pinta, saying, “She has brought people together who have never been able to speak to each other.”

Ann McAuliffe, president of the Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays Deerfield chapter and mother of two nonbinary young adults, called Pinta “exactly the type of teacher I want standing in the front of the classroom.” She described Pinta as having “integrity, purpose, passion, kindness, intelligence, empathy” and praised her as someone who “lifts people up.”

Arlington Heights village trustee Bill Manganaro lauded Pinta for her leadership with the Pinta Pride Project, the Buffalo Grove Pride Parade and “support for our most vulnerable neighbors and family members. Teachers like Carolyn Pinta save lives.”

District 96 Superintendent Katie Sheridan issued a statement emphasizing that the district “cannot discuss personnel matters” and that “staff members do not speak for the district or represent it in any capacity when using personal social media accounts.”

“Please know that our focus remains on supporting the well-being and learning of our students each and every day,” she continued.