The Algonquin-based District 300 school board president says she will not apologize after a protest was held and community members call for her resignation over her remarks about the Charlie Kirk assassination.
Nancy Zettler, the Board President for Community Unit School District 300, shared a Facebook post on her personal profile from Qasim Rashid, a fellow Democrat and Chicago-area resident.
Rashid reflected on the assassination of Charlie Kirk and said that he extends his empathy to Kirk’s family despite disagreeing with his politics and with him as a person.
In sharing the post, Zettler said, “The first thing I thought when I heard this today was ‘Karma, it’s a $itch.’ Then I read this. The author, Qasim Rashid, says it best.”
Parents in the school district took to social media against Zettler for making the comment, saying it was “hateful” while calling for her removal from the board.
A protest was held last week on Monday morning outside the District 300 administration office at 2550 Harnish Drive in Algonquin.
Protesters lined the roadway and held signs, including “No Nancy, assassination is not karma, it is murder! You must resign!” and “Charlie Kirk is not the problem… Zettler is!”
“Hate has no place in our community, and she must be held accountable,” the Kane County GOP said in a statement.
District 300 Board Member Steve Fiorentino said he was “disturbed and disgusted” at the words that Zettler wrote.
“I want to insure you that I remain committed to a safe and inclusive environment for all students, teachers and staff,” he said.
Fiorentino said he was calling for a special board meeting with a pro tem president to be appointed for the meeting.
“This meeting will allow students, staff and community members to share their concerns directly to the Board of Education. Thank you to the many of you for your calls and messages sharing your shock and disgust,” Fiorentino said.
“I assure you that your voices are being heard and that I will continue to ask for action. D300 deserves leadership that reflects and models integrity, respect and thoughtful communication,” he added.
During a board meeting on Tuesday, Zettler gave a several-minute-long speech saying she was sorry that the district was disrupted by “recent attacks” on her, the board and the administration.
Zettler called the actions a “manufactured disruption,” which drew audible laughs from the audience.
“These groups recruit people to find and manufacture evidence to use against leaders and employees on social media, create an uproar and then use it against them to try and get them fired or removed from office,” Zettler said.
“This is why I will not apologize for the post I made through my personal Facebook page on September 10,” she said.
Zettler said the post is “my speech, my property, my intellectual property” that was “stolen” and altered to make it look like she was celebrating the “horrific” murder of Kirk.
“Thank you for your time and for reaching out with your concerns, we do take them seriously,” she said at the conclusion of her speech.
Laurie Parman, who was a 2023 candidate for the District 300 school board, said that Zettler’s social media comment “was not leadership material.”
Parman said that Zettler should resign and also called for three other board members who “like” reacted to Zettler’s post to also resign.
Parman acknowledged that it is very hard to fire someone who was publicly elected and said she knows Zettler and knows she is “very unlikely” to step down.
Zettler was first elected to the board in 2019 and her current term is set to end in April 2027.