Santa Fe High counselor accused of racist social media posts about Floyd protests

Steven Taytelbaum, a Philadelphia resident, notified the district this week about Facebook posts and comments she made regarding the ongoing protests nationwide over the killing of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police.

Taytelbaum submitted public comments to a virtual school board meeting Tuesday, which Carl read aloud.

“It is my opinion along with many others that engaged with her in her rampant arguing and hate speech that she should not be working with children of any age,” Taytelbaum said in his comments.

“She clearly shows no respect for people of color.”

On Monday, Taytelbaum shared a Facebook meme that said, “Repeat after me: I will not tell black folks how to feel, protest, or mourn.”

Sheldon responded: “Protesting is one thing. Killing innocent business owners while looting is wrong.”

She posted an image purporting to show the body of a shop owner in Dallas killed by rioters. That story has since been debunked. The man, who was determined to be an armed aggressor in the incident, did not die, according to news reports.

Taytelbaum replied to Sheldon: “I’m not dealing with your racism today so knock it off and go educate yourself properly.”

What followed was an increasingly heated thread of comments between Sheldon, Taytelbaum and others. In one comment, Sheldon posted an image of a helicopter carrying a giant bucket of KFC chicken with the caption, “On my way to save Minneapolis.”

Many of Sheldon’s comments and posts on the Floyd killing and protests were in regard to rioting and looting.

One was a meme of animated TV character Homer Simpson mocking looters, with the words, “Look at me; I robbed a Target to stop racism.”

In a comment on another Facebook post, Sheldon said looters and rioters were acting like “a bunch of animals.”

After Carl read Taytelbaum’s public comment at the school board meeting Tuesday, board Vice President Lorraine Price asked Superintendent Veronica García to look into the matter. García said she was already aware of the comments.

In a statement Wednesday, García said, “Santa Fe Public Schools holds itself to high standards of conduct and expects staff to adhere to the New Mexico Educator Code of Ethics and uphold the District’s mission, which values diversity, equity and social justice.

“While I cannot comment on an individual personnel matter,” she added, “I can unequivocally say that hate speech and racist commentary are unacceptable.”