Two employees of a school in Virginia are under fire after they dressed for Halloween as Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton -- with "Clinton" wearing an orange prison jumpsuit.
A photo that was posted to the website of Robert E. Lee High School in Staunton, Virginia, showed a man dressed as Trump, complete with the blond wig, a “Make America Great Again Hat” and a Trump pin. He stood alongside a woman dressed in an orange jumpsuit, with a chain around her waist and a nametage that said "Hillary Clinton."
The photo, which was later removed from the site, showed school principal Mark Rowicki and secretary Stephanie Corbett, The Staunton News Leader reported.
Staunton City Schools superintendent Dr. Linda Reviea called the costumes "in poor judgment."
“It is a longstanding tradition of Staunton City Schools — and of many school divisions across the United States—to allow students and staff to engage in festive activities and dress in costume for Halloween. That said, the particular costumes worn by two employees at R.E. Lee High School were in poor judgment, especially so given the current political climate and the extraordinarily strong sentiments for the 2016 presidential candidates,” she said in a statement published on the school's website.
Parents and community members took to social media to discuss the photo.
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“How unprofessional and inappropriate of your principal and secretary to dress like this. What an awful example you are setting for your students,” one person wrote on the high school's Facebook page.
Other commenters called for action to be taken against Rowicki and Corbett and argued that they should not present their personal views at the school.
“There are students of voting age at Lee, and it is your duty as educators to be impartial and to raise the level of discourse about our Democracy,” another Facebook commenter wrote, saying she was the parent of a graduate of the school.
The district did not say whether the principal or secretary would be punished.
“We are handling the situation as a personnel matter and addressing the issue with relevant staff,” Reviea said.
