Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Lynnfield teacher fired due to ‘alleged hate based ideologies’
“This information and behavior is not aligned with our values as a school community,” Lynnfield Public Schools Superintendent Tom Geary wrote.
A substitute math teacher working at Lynnfield High School was fired Monday due to his “alleged connection to hate based ideologies,” school officials said.
Lynnfield Public Schools Superintendent Tom Geary wrote in a letter to families Monday that “Mr. Reihner” was fired after the district became aware of the allegations Sunday night.
“This information and behavior is not aligned with our values as a school community,” Geary wrote. “In an abundance of caution, we have school counselors available who are reaching out to potentially impacted students, and we have a strong police presence at the high school today. Providing a safe learning environment for every student and staff member will always be our top priority.”
Advertisement:
Only one educator with the last name Reihner is registered with the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, according to its database. Jarek Reihner was granted an emergency extension to his license to teach math in August.
Reihner completed mandatory background checks and fingerprinting before beginning at Lynnfield, Geary said. As of now, the school has not received any reports that “he attempted to influence student beliefs or actions in a negative or derogatory manner,” according to the superintendent.
While Geary did not disclose Reihner’s specific alleged hateful beliefs, the superintendent offered his support to Jewish community members in the letter. He said the district contacted the Anti-Defamation League to respond appropriately at school.
Advertisement:
“All antisemitic hate is especially troubling and isolating for members of our Jewish community,” Geary wrote. “The timing of this situation around the High Holidays and the October 7th anniversary of violence in Israel is also concerning.”
Blog alleges Reihner is a white supremacist, antisemitic conspiracy theorist
A student said the beliefs were “discovered by seniors at (the) school,” WHDH reported.
“They were the ones that found it,” said sophomore Gabriella Dambrosio. “If you’re hiring someone that high schoolers can go online and find information about so easily, it’s clearly like you just didn’t do your job good enough.”
The timing of Reihner’s firing aligns with a local “antifascist” blog By Way of Plymouth posting a dossier about him on Sunday.
The blog alleges that Reihner is an American white supremacist, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, self-declared neo-Nazi, and a member of Patriot Front, a white supremacist group.
The dossier claims that Reihner wrote in internal chats that he “will hail hitler as much as I want” and said the “only approved hair and mustache grooming standards” is Adolf Hitler’s style.
The blog post also shares multiple pictures allegedly of Reihner at far-right demonstrations in Boston from 2017 through 2019.
Advertisement:
While there was an increased police presence at the high school on Monday, Lynnfield Police Chief Nick Secatore told Boston.com the department did not believe there was an active threat.
“There is simply no room for hate in our schools or our town,” Geary wrote.
Reihner did not return a request for comment Tuesday night.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com