The Iowa Standard published a story Tuesday morning about the Des Moines Public Schools superintendent and his wife. In a photo on his wife’s social media account, Thomas Ahart is seen wearing a headband with a picture of praying hands connected to it and a cross around his neck with an angel affixed.
The caption reads, “#ThoughtsAndPrayers #Halloween2018 #BlueWave.”
Ahart’s Des Moines Public Schools badge is visible under his pull over at the top of his left thigh, which seems to indicate he wore this attire while displaying his DMPS badge.
The Iowa Standard sent an email to Ahart, as well as the members of the Des Moines School Board, asking a few questions:
*Are the board members comfortable with what seems to be the superintendent mocking the Christian faith while displaying his DMPS badge?
*Would this sort of behavior be OK if, perhaps instead of praying hands, he had a picture of the Muslim call to prayer affixed to his head and/or a crescent moon and star around his neck?
*We also shared a few of the worst posts from his wife, Jami Ahart. We asked if it is acceptable to bully based on political party or political beliefs.
*We reminded Ahart and the board of the Des Moines Public School District’s anti-bullying policy.
*We finished by asking if this behavior would be acceptable for DMPS students and if it would be permissible for a student to post things on social media like this about their own teachers or administrators.
We have not yet heard as of 2 p.m.
Some readers have asked about contact information for those folks. Here it is:
superintendent@dmschools.org; Kyrstin.Delagardelle@dmschools.org; dwana.bradley@dmschools.org; rob.barron@dmschools.org; teree.caldwell-johnson@dmschools.org; kalyn.cody@dmschools.org; kimberly.martorano@dmschools.org; kelli.soyer@dmschools.org
