A school district in Oregon already battling multiple scandals is making headlines again after two school employees made a wild TikTok video at work showing themselves apparently flipping off anti-LGBTQ parents.
During their day jobs as guidance counselors at Mountain View Middle School in the Newberg School District, Annie Bynum and Erin Dobias appear to find the time to film hilarious TikTok videos on an account named crazybulldogs333. In one recent video uncovered by the Yamhill Advocate, the pair mouthed lyrics to a song while standing in front a Pride flag bearing the message, “We believe Black lives matter, love is love, feminism is for everyone, no human being is illegal, science is real.”
Seemingly as a sarcastic jab against the district’s ban on Pride or Black Lives Matter flags in classrooms, the video carried a quote that said, “I don’t think that flag should be [allowed] in schools.” The pair mouthed “Fuck you” at those who oppose the flag as they gave the middle finger. It was captioned with hashtags like #loveislove and #blacklivesmatter. Ironically, the last phrase on the Pride flag read, “Be kind to all.”
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On Friday, Newberg School District officials wrote on Mountain View’s Facebook page that the pair had been suspended.
“The district has been made aware of a TikTok video by staff members. As the first step of our investigative process, the staff members have been put on administrative leave. We are not able to comment any further about personnel matters,” the statement said. Mountain View Middle School declined to comment.
The suspension didn’t stop parents and school community members from erupting on the Facebook account called Save Our Schools Newberg.
“So, if kids and families see this that do not agree with the flags inside the school, which is the district rule, these counselors are basically singing to them, ‘fu** you and your dog and your sister…..’ How does that make kids and families feel safe and welcome?” Melissa Waldo Milroy wrote.
“I don’t have an issue with what officers choose to do on their own time,” Tiffany Olea commented. “Why would I? What they posted is not something hateful; it's a song that is on the radio and most people don’t bat an eye when they hear it. This page moderator is just looking for something to be pissed about...it’s quite petty.”
“Wait…these are school counselors?! Exactly who people want telling their children how to navigate emotions and behaviors. Class act,” Laura Olson wrote.
“This is why my kids will never go back to Newberg Public Schools,” another mother, Amy Kinkead, chimed in.
However Mountain View Middle School secretary Vicki Klein came to the defense of the counselors, describing them as “dedicated, compassionate, fun and engaged in everything that is happening on a daily basis here at MVMS.”
“The TikTok you’re all commenting about was made in response to a viewer who slammed them on the use of the sign you see in the background. This was NOT intended against our school board, our students or our parents AT ALL. …I assure you they are very good humans,” she wrote.
Bynum and Dobias have posted other videos to their TikTok account, which was made private since their flag clip went viral. YouTube account Millennial Gentleman Backup re-posted the clips before the account was locked.
In another video captioned “Tell me you work in a middle school without telling me you work in a middle school,” music played as one of the counselors displayed her desk filled with cards and family photos. Then, she opened a drawer filled with bottles of ibuprofen, Alka Seltzer, Tazo tea packets, face masks, and other colorful bottles of unidentifiable pills.
However, Bynum and Dobias have also made uplifting content for their students.
In a video captioned “Shout out to all of our students!!!” with rainbow hearts, the counselors spread a message of love.
“This is for all of our struggling students,” they said. “We believe in you. Love who you are. Never give up. Know you are loved and appreciated everyday. You matter.”
The Newberg School District is not just home to TikToking guidance counselors. In September 2021, Newberg High School students took part in a mock slave trade, according to KGW8 Portland. Students allegedly created a group chat on social media and joked about which of their Black classmates they would pay for in an auction and how much. Photos and racist and homophobic slurs accompanied students on the auction list.
“To imagine your own child being talked about as if they were subhuman slaves to be sold by other students,” the mother of a student told KGW8. “It made me feel like I was going to throw up.”
The school district said at the time that it was taking the matter “extremely seriously” and would “follow our policies for any disciplinary action.”
But later that month, a teacher was slammed for wearing blackface as part of a bizarre argument against vaccinations. Lauren Pefferle, a special education assistant at Mabel Rush Elementary School, allegedly used iodine to darken her complexion and compared herself to Rosa Parks as she protested mandatory school vaccinations for staff. She was later fired.
At the time, Newberg School District vowed to offer a “safe and welcoming environment…that is free from bullying, and reduces mental, emotional, and physical harm.” But, just days later, they responded by banning flags from classrooms that were deemed political, including Pride and Black Lives Matter flags.
According to a video provided by KGW8, Newberg School Board Vice-Chair Brian Shannon said, “We don’t pay our teachers to push their political views on our students, that is not their place. Their place is to teach the approved curriculum, and that is all this policy does is ensure that that is happening in our schools.”
Just as it looked like things couldn’t get any worse in Newberg, the district suddenly fired its superintendent in November. In an email previously provided to The Daily Beast, Joe Morelock claimed that he was terminated more than two years before his contract was set to end. Board members who voted to remove him refused to provide a reason but they were the same members who’d voted against “political” flags in classrooms and were allegedly upset that Morelock was not more proactive in removing them.
In response to the school district’s flag policy, the Newberg Education Association union filed a lawsuit, which the board director predicted would be one of many to come.
