re: Walker,LA HS Principal being a tyrant /// Updated: now National News

I agree. It’s so illogical that I assume he was mostly ready to retire and was willing to act however he wanted until it became a problem.

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or he'd gotten away with similar shite in the past and thought there was no chance of it coming back to bite him.

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This based on what Ive read. And he had good reason to think he was untouchable because for a long time, he was. Lets be honest, had this happened to a shithead student, this outrage would have never happened.

He fked up by targeting someone who made those with even the most pro-authority stance pause. His downfall came from losing favor with the reasonable majority-not just those with pitchforks.

Ironically, Rachel is from Plaquemines. Sad and unfortunate situation.

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Sad and unfortunate situation.

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If they'd (St Pierre and Becnel) stayed in their lane none of this would have happened. They deserve the storm headed their way.

Agreed—poor decision on their part.

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If this guy was willing to be over the top shitty to a student who by all accounts was one of the best in the school over her twerking at a party it's a virtual guarantee there is a trail of kids he's fricked over in the past who didn't have the academic and social standing to fight back.

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This is the bigger issue in my opinion. Knacka and co. are looking at this myopically as a 1-off mistake. But it’s not even really about just this particular incident. It is window into how he thinks, has thought, and would have continued thinking had this not come to light.

A “mistake” would be if he was mad at her, passed her in the hall, and lost his temper and called her a floozy or even slut or something. As terrible and inappropriate and possibly firing worthy as that would have been, it would have been the quick, unpremeditated, not-thinking mistake that we humans are capable of. But it would have been one that he immediately regretted, knew he messed up and could have genuinely felt guilty and given an honest apology for.

But that’s not what he did. He had time to think about it. Days even. And this girl, who I’m assuming is a good kid, otherwise she wouldn’t have been elected SGA President, had a 4.2 GPA, and, in a school with a 2,000+ student body and a likely 400+ Sr. class was one of only 2 that was endorsed for said scholarship. I don’t know how much it was for, and I don’t think it really matters, but it was likely a pretty prestigious honor. And after having a couple days to think about it, he decides to take away 2 of the most prestigious honors she was awarded. And then has the utter audacity to claim that the school’s mission is to lift their students up and help best prepare them for success when they leave those hallow halls. Or whatever bullshite was in his statement. I can’t circle that square.

It seems to me, that if he genuinely cared about this girl and honestly thought the video might negatively effect her reputation and insisted on discussing it with her—I don’t think it’s his place at all as a public school administrator to get involved in such things that happened off campus at a non-school sanctioned event, but let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and say he was truly trying to look out for her—would the more appropriate play not have been to call her in his office, and calmly explain how the internet is forever, and things you post online can be used against you down the road, sometimes several years later:

“Kaylee, it was brought to my attention that a video of you dancing somewhat provocatively made its way onto social media. You’re young and may not be aware that those things can follow you forever. I have seen how social media posts have been used against people sometimes 10 or more years later. I’ve seen colleges revoke admissions for stupid things kids said when they were just 15 or 16. I’ve seen employers do background checks and not hire people for pictures or videos they posted on their Facebook accounts in high school.

I’m not saying the video of you last weekend would rise to that level or was even bad, but you’re a bright young woman with a great future ahead of you, and I just want to make sure you’re mindful of what you post. Because the internet is forever. And we’re so proud of you and what you’ve accomplished here at Walker High School, and would hate for that future to be jeopardized by for something silly you posted in high school that doesn’t really reflect what kind of person we know you are and are destined to become because some stick-in-the-mud potential employer forgot what it was like to be a teenager and took something innocuous out of context. So again, just be mindful. Alright, now get back to class and have a great rest of your day.”

That is how an admin who genuinely cared about his students would have handled that—if he just felt like he was genuinely trying to help her out and actually believed the bullshite mission of the school that he somehow managed to post with a straight face in his super genuine apology that had nothing to do at all with the backlash. No, he alone saw the error of his ways and had a coming to Jesus with himself.

Speaking of Jesus, this post got away from me, but I will broach that in a later one.

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From what I've heard, Becnel may have a daughter that was up for the same scholarship as kaylee, as well as a candidate for student of the year. Gotta get the competition out the way

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That is some nefarious shite that should bring a hellstorm of shite with it if true. I’m gonna give him the benefit of the doubt for the sake of this conversation, though.

But like I started my long arse post that got away from me, it’s bigger than just this isolated incident. Because his reaction was planned and not a spur of the moment deal, it gives a glimpse into how he thinks. Even if he’s never outright stripped a previous student of honors like this before, if this is how he thinks, that he is the arbiter of all things moral when it comes to that school—not sure how he can really see anything from way up there on his high horse, though—how many worthy students has he either not helped lift up or even kept down because he didn’t like the way they dress, didn’t like who they hung out with, didn’t approve of who they dated, heard they—-GASP!!!—had imbibed an alcoholic beverage or 2, were sexually active, parents were divorced, didn’t actively go to church, or went to the “wrong” one? He seemed to be really triggered over something that was really nothing. What else has spawned his vengeful moral outrage that he kept silent not by taking opportunities away, but just simply not considering fair ones because he disapproved of their immoral—by his standards—behavior?

And I literally can’t even on the religious scolding. Nothing should shock me, but I honestly can’t fathom that at a public school in 2023. It is beyond my comprehension. I went to a similar sized public school. It was 25 years ago in the Bible Belt, so our SGA President (ironically) prayed every Monday morning before class, we had FCS, FCA, a “See you at the pole” prayer meeting before school a couple times a year, prayed before football games, etc…same as a lot of y’all who went to public schools around then did. But it was all voluntary and nobody cared or ever made a stink about it. And it was more ritual than religious, really.

And in my 4 years there, absolutely zero teachers or admins ever broached the subject of religion with me personally. Because they knew, even in that accepting climate, that was a boundary you just didn’t cross. I was a good kid, never got in trouble (in high school), was respectful, blah, blah, blah. But if I had got sent to the Principal’s Office for something I did away from school and he tried to invoke some scripture to get on to me, that meeting would have lasted about 20 seconds and I would have told him to get proper fricked and went back to class. But he never would have done that. Because it’s beyond the pale.

I am still flabbergasted that this actually happened at a public school in 2023. I mean, if that’s the admin he wanted to be, there’s no shortage of private Christian schools in south Louisiana. Surely he could have found one that aligned with his beliefs and pursued a career there.

And why was he watching a video of a 17/18 year old girl student of his twerking? Does he make a habit of stalking his students’ social media? Was it sent to him? Why did he even watch it. He’s 50, and that’s creepy as frick. “Hey Mr. Principal, I’m emailing you a video of Suzy Q twerking at a party Saturday night?”
“Naw fam, I’m good. You can hang on to that.”

Last thing. frick that dude. But I don’t think they should go after his pension. He probably did get into education with good intentions and did good work for a while until he got so much power he eventually got drink off of it and couldn’t handle it. But I’m sure he’s got a family, and I think that’s just a little too punitive. But he should never be employed by the state of Louisiana again.

The assumption there is that LPSS wants him gone and we don’t know if that’s true. Very likely they let him sit out this school year and expect it all to blow over before next school year begins.

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I don't get why the pension is some third rail that is totally off-limits. Maybe administrators/employees in all lines of government would think twice before doing something they probably know is wrong if they thought it would put their retirement in jeopardy.

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It also directly affects his family. Are we going to punish his entire family because he made 1 really bad mistake?