Fired teacher attacks 'woke' school board after judge's ruling

A teacher allegedly fired for his political beliefs hit the board behind the DEI-linked termination with a post-tenure reality check.

“By now it's painfully obvious that you made a mistake.”

In April, Matthew Garrett, a professor of history at Bakersfield College in California, was fired in what many saw as a violation of his constitutional rights. Although the Kern Community College district cited “unsatisfactory performance” and “unprofessional” conduct, a judge's ruling in a related lawsuit prompted the teacher to bid for his job.

Speaking at the Dec. 12 KCCD Board of Directors meeting, Garrett referenced “Antigone” when he informed members unequivocally, “In the end, you're going to lose.”

“By now it's painfully obvious that you were wrong. You can't expect to prevail in the courts. There's no value in dragging it out,” he said while setting out the reported facts, including the sentence of the magistrate judge American Christopher Baker who argued that the teacher's First and Fourteenth Amendment rights had been compromised, as well as the rights of whistleblowers.

“I can't help but make this process painful for me and my family. You put me on welfare. You stole Christmas from my kids. You took food out of their mouths, and it's true that you can make me suffer more. But I'm unbreakable,” Garrett declared. “In the end, you will lose.”

“The longer it goes on, the greater the cost to taxpayers. At that point, you're on the hook for at least a few million dollars in retaliation, defamation and legal fees,” he stated. “That's inevitable now. But if you continue on this path, you could very easily double or triple that spending.”

In response to a June lawsuit filed by Garrett's colleague, professor Daymon Johnson, which sought to prevent the university from retaliating against those with differing political views, Baker's November precautionary mandate suspended the state's diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility regulations and wrote, “Although the defendants' goal of promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the college system community interests in California is undoubtedly important and defendants are entitled to encourage their employees to adopt those principles. Plaintiff has shown a likelihood of success on the merits that the regulatory scheme defendants have put in place to promote those interests is contrary to the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of expression in the academic field.

The lawsuit had alleged that Bakersfield College had been aware of Garrett's written opinion pieces and radio show appearances he had made after speaking out against “cultural Marxism.”

While the fired teacher asked the board to let go of its pride and do the right thing to put the termination in the past, a statement from a KCCD spokesperson on Fox News stood firm in support of DEIA policies from California

“In relation to the litigation on the regulations of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility of the State, KCCD has presented objections to the recommendations of the judge of justice, as well as the chancellery of the State. The state-mandated DEIA regulations do not compel faculty to adopt ideological concepts, and KCCD has not enforced the regulations in this way,” the spokesperson said.

“KCCd asks teachers to promote and foster an inclusive environment in their classrooms and committees and will continue to do so,” the statement continued. “Our commitment to our students and community drives our goals, and we believe this lawsuit is without merit. As such, KCCD will continue to vigorously defend itself.”

Before concluding his remarks, Garrett stated, “You've become the Grinch who stole Christmas from my children. But in the end it's the taxpayers of Kern County who will be robbed. Is that really what you want to do ?”

Staff writer

A native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College, where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and seeker of truth, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and dog, and when he's not researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel ·the.

Latest messages from Kevin Haggerty (see everything)

We have zero tolerance for comments that contain violence, racism, profanity, profanity, doxing, or rude behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it, click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for engaging with us in a fruitful conversation.

JOIN OUR NEW COMMENT SYSTEM! We love hearing from our readers and invite you to join us for feedback and good conversation. If you've commented with us before, we'll need you to re-enter your email address for this. The public won't see it and we won't share it.