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The Iowa Standard reached out to the members of the Johnston School Board as well as the district’s superintendent, Laura Kacer, to ask questions about Louis Fountain’s social media postings. Fountain was announced last week as the district’s new director of equity, inclusion and belonging.

We highlighted posts from Fountain, such as:

“On my next road trip I’m packing the electoral map, I will know where NOT to stop for gas.”

Part of Fountain’s job, according to the district’s press release, is to form relationships with businesses that support the school community. Considering Iowa voted for President Trump by a wide margin, we asked how this sort of thinking might im pact his ability to create those relationships.

One may also wonder if Fountain drives all the way to Illinois or Minnesota for gas every time he fills up.

Another one of his duties is to build relationships with elected officials, but he shared a photo of the fly on vice president Mike Pence’s head, saying that usually flies land on sh*t.

Again, according to the district’s own release, how will he build relationships with elected leaders — some of whom are Republicans?

We mentioned the quote about Herschel Walker not wanting to be black and Fountain liking comments about the “Coon class” and “Coons.”

We asked if that is reflective of “equity, inclusion and belonging.”

And we mentioned his anti-police sentiments. We asked if the district had any concerns about the messages his posts send and if the district did any examination at all of his public Facebook account.

Those questions were never really answered, but Kacer did respond:

“We recognize and respect that social media has become a platform where people are entitled to exercise their First Amendment rights of free speech,” she said. “Mr. Fountain was not hired based on his political views or the businesses he patronizes. He was hired after a rigorous interview process as an outstanding candidate who has demonstrated impactful change within multiple stakeholder groups.”

Author: Jacob Hall

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