East Valley school board member draws heat for controversial Facebook posts

Emotions among the Queen Creek Unified School District’s governing board remain high after a district employee called what she deemed “vile, sexist, misogynistic and borderline racist” Facebook posts made by board member James Knox.

The posts drew a sharp rebuke from other board members as well as the public while Knox defended the posts and took his Facebook feed private.

“To be clear, this isn’t about who we support politically or freedom of speech, which we all have a right to — this is about the explicit sexual nature of the posts. Some of the posts sent to me from his profile depict a woman crouching down and holding on to men’s genitals and a children’s book about ‘Hookers and Blow Save Christmas,’” stated governing board President Jennifer Revolt in an email. “I want to make it clear that I do not condone this behavior from someone who is supposed to serve as a professional leader of children as well as every family in the Queen Creek Unified School District.”

Revolt’s descriptions of the posts were confirmed through screenshots captured by a member of the public. A few of the sexually oriented memes were about Vice President Kamala Harris.

Knox doesn’t deny that he posted the material, adding he’s taken almost none of them down but has set his Facebook page to private “for the moment.”

“We have these administrators who are, in my opinion, trying to make a mountain out of the molehill, but yeah I posted this stuff,” Knox said. “It was on my personal Facebook page and 99% of it was stuff that other people had posted. They have every right to feel offended, but nothing I posted was intended to offend. It was humorous by many people’s standards.”

The posts came to light during the QCUSD board’s Aug. 6 meeting after a district employee called them out during public comments.

“We have come before the board to formerly complain about board member Knox’s posts on social media, which we find unbecoming of an elected official,” Connie Romano, who was joined by two other district employees, told the board. “While his Facebook page is personal, he openly advertises association with QCUSD in his bio.

“We respect everyone’s right to free speech and personal political views however the memes Mr. Knox has been posting are vile, sexist, misogynistic and borderline racist.”

Romano asked that the board take “appropriate action as this behavior warrants public censure.”

In her email, Revolt stated that the board’s ability to address the issue was limited because Knox is an elected official.

On Thursday, Samantha Davis, vice president of the board, stated in an email that Knox had voted to approve a social media conduct policy for district employees but “he seems to believe he’s exempt from the same standards.”

“This double standard is unacceptable and damages the integrity of our board and the trust of our community,” Davis added. “In a district where 73% of employees are women, it’s deeply troubling that someone with such a demeaning attitude toward women holds a position of influence.”

Knox said he received about 150 emails, claiming that “99.9%” of them come from people who do not live in the district or state.

“Here they’re complaining that I’m misogynistic and grooming and all these other words and stuff yet everything I’m getting sent to me and messages to me are far worse than anything that (I) posted,” he said.

This isn’t the first time a member of the public challenged one of Knox’s Facebook posts. Last year, a parent claimed Knox had posted an improper comment on the Queen Creek High School Band’s Facebook fan page by quoting part of a line from the film “American Pie.”

Three governing board seats are being contested in November’s general election. Incumbents Revolt, Patty Campbell and Matt Riffey are running for reelection. They are being challenged by David M. Dehority and  Heidi Lee who have Knox’s support. Nicholas Patrick Tuley, who was also backed by Knox, was removed from the ballot after his signatures were challenged and he came up short.

Knox, who homeschools his children, was elected to the board in 2022.

“Yeah, I’m serving the public and I believe they have every right to feel offended, but they don’t have to sit here and attack me,” he said. “Just because I’m able to laugh at something that someone else may find offensive to them that means I shouldn’t be serving? Well, then vote me out.”

We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Janet Perez can be reached at jperez@iniusa.org.