WYANDOTTE, Mich. (WXYZ) — A Wyandotte Public Schools board trustee has resigned after facing public backlash for a bigoted comment on social media.
Trustee Cindy Kinney commented on a social media post comparing Muslims to dog.
The post said, "dogs or Muslims. You can only keep one."
Kinney wrote “dogs.”
Kinney submitted a letter of resignation on Wednesday, the district said.
On Tuesday night, the Wyandotte Board of Education hosted a special meeting about the Facebook comment they called discriminatory and hurtful. Community members called on her to resign from her position, which prompted the special meeting.
Watch our previous report from the special board meeting about the comment below:
During the meeting, Superintendent James Anderson announced, “Trustee Kinney will not be in attendance due to a pre-planned trip out of state.”
Kinney, who served on the board for 12 years, wrote a letter of apology for her behavior. Despite her absence, a dozen people took to the podium to express their disgust with her comment.
During the meeting, Board President Theresa Crnkovich told the audience that the board has no legal mechanism to remove a sitting board member from office. That power is in the hands of the voters. However, the board did pass a resolution denouncing her comment.
“Whereas, this comment by trustee Cindy Kinney was discriminatory and hurtful and not in any way authorized or endorsed by the full school board and does not reflect it's views or perspective,” Crnkovich read at the meeting.
Wyandotte City Councilwoman Adriana Cerulla previously told 7 News Detroit, "I think it's great that the board said that they do all support her resigning from this position."
Another board member read a statement written by Kinney, in which she apologized.
“I want to be clear that I respect people of all faiths and backgrounds. It was never my intention to offend, marginalize or diminish anyone in our community. I understand why many who are upset, and I am truly sorry," Kinney said in the statement.
7 News Detroit reached out to Kinney for comment but have not heard back.
The board will appoint someone to serve in her place until the next regular school board election.
