Hallsville School District employees still have jobs, still suspended after board meeting

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Two Hallsville School District employees who were put on leave last week for sharing social media posts about Charlie Kirk after his death remain employed and suspended after a school board meeting.

The Hallsville Board of Education met Wednesday night for the first time since Anthony Plogger and Kayla Lewis were suspended with pay for sharing posts about Kirk. The board heard from almost a dozen members of the public who had opinions on the suspension.

The offending post was shared from a social media page called "So Informed" and expressed a lack of empathy for Kirk's death because of comments he made. Kirk was a conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA -- an organization that sought to win young adults over to conservative politics.

Since his death, Kirk's allies have encouraged conservatives to expose social media posts critical of Kirk or celebrating his death.

The school board met in closed session after the public portion of Wednesday's meeting, but took no votes related to the suspended employees, board President Craig Stevenson wrote in an email to district families.

The district is legally barred from sharing more information because it is a personnel matter, Stevenson wrote.