Are You Next? High-School Teacher Fired For Harmless Facebook Photo Holding Two Drinks SHARE: Tweet </noscript> A lot of teachers have been behaving badly lately, but some are being giving a harsher punishment that necessary. Ashley Payne, a teacher at Apalachee High School in Georgia, was asked to leave after a Facebook photo surfaced of her holding a pint of beer in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. Payne, 24, was called into the principal’s office and asked if she had a Facebook page. When she replied yes, he then asked “Do you have any pictures of yourself up there with alcohol?” She was offered two options: resign or be suspended. Payne choose to resign but she’s not going down without a fight. The photo was reported to the school by a parent who found it offensive and felt it promoted drinking but Payne and her lawyer, Richard Storrs, are arguing the accusations are ridiculous. “It would be like I went to a restaurant and I saw my daughter’s teacher sitting there with her husband having a glass of some kind of liquid,” Storrs said, “You know, is that frowned upon by the school board? Is that illegal? Is that improper? Of course not. It’s the same situation in this case.” Payne is confused just how the parental tattle-tale got access to her page in the first place. She has all her privacy settings on on “high,” meaning only her closet friends have permission to see her pictures. We’re wondering just the same thing and what exactly it means for everyone else. It’s one thing for an employer to not hire you because you have pictures taking hits from a bong or being drunkenly passed out on your profile, but Payne’s picture seems rather harmless. You could argue that she’s double-fisting, but perhaps she’s just holding the drink for a friend. We know it’s an old excuse, but the fact is pictures can be misinterpreted quite easily, which means anyone can come under fire. Especially when moms, who are generally technology-handicapped, can access things we think are private. Maybe Facebook isn’t being completely honest about their Facebook privacy settings. It just goes to show you that we should all think before we post. What do you think? Is Payne being rightly fired? Are you worried you’re next? Let us know below. *Picture is from CBS. HVculture HVCulture is our bin for all things Culture.
Vytautas Basys Jr. 5pts Wow, Americans are stupid. Firing a teacher for such small thing... Narrow-minded fat assholes.
daHELL 5pts Jesus Christ, people who fired her are complete MORONS! Can't she hace a drink?? She's human! She's absolutely NOT rightly fired! I don't drink myself, but to judge a person for a photo?... Aholes, idiots, I have no idea...
Tara Leonard 5pts "Especially when moms, who are generally technology-handicapped, can access things we think are private." This sentence sucks. Poor, stupid moms, right? I suppose I'd better quit my job as a web dev, then.
Melissalgarbisch 5pts This is bull shit. If this was taken on work hours its one thing. On your own time its our right to have a drink. Was she informed prior to hire that having a drink was not aloud? Sounds like they need to re-write the school employee hand book. Hope this teacher wins. Sounds like one Hell of a law suit.
Go After Them 5pts Yes the only crime here is her poor choice in the quality of drinks she was drinking. I don't like to say this most of the time ,but I hope she sues the piss out of that school before they start burning books.
A. Coors 5pts You know what the real problem is? She's drinking an import. Carlsberg? Love it or leave it, Ms. Payne.
Billy Herskowitz 5pts This is absolutely ridiculous. This is another example of what's wrong with middle America. Troublemakers are throughout society. Totally absurd!
Bobby 5pts This is ridiculous. You said it best, you don't know who she is holding the drinks for, she isn't passed out, taking hits from a bong, she's smiling while holding a beer in one hand and glass of wine in the other. How that parent saw the pics is another matter.