A Houston elementary school teacher has been asked to resign after she made anti-Muslim remarks on public access television and wished that Ebola would "take out Obama" in mid-November, Houston Independent School District officials said.
Angela Box, a third-grade teacher at Daily Elementary in west Houston, will receive three month's pay under a deal approved by the school board on Thursday, Breitbart reported. After her profane remarks made headlines last month, trustees at the school's district voted 6-0 to approve her immediate resignation.
"Can't Ebola just take one for the team and take out Obama?" Box, a regular guest featured on the conservative political show "Tommy's Garage," had remarked.
In another online clip, she had called Muslims "bacon haters," stating that "Every normal human being in the world knows that goat-f**king Muslims and, oh, boy f**king Muslims, are the evil of the world."
However, Box had defended her controversial comments, claiming that she was a victim of "character assassination" by local African American activist Quanell X, who had reportedly accused the teacher of using racial slurs, the Houston Chronicle reported.
"As I have said before, opposing President Obama and sounding the alarm about radical Islam does not make me a racist," she said, adding that she did not utter the racial epithets Quanell X had attributed to her.
"I am considering all my legal options regarding the conduct from Mr. X and others. I expect to have an announcement as early as next Monday regarding my future steps."
Initially, HISD officials had defended Box's comments, stating that the First Amendment free-speech rights of employees should be respected.
But in a statement on Thursday, HISD said, "District administrators recommended accepting Box's offer of resignation after determining it was in the best interest of the school and its students."
Previously, a letter to HISD Superintendent Terry Grier had also been sent by CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, who claimed to be "appalled by Box's statements."
"Having The New Black Panthers, The New Black Muslims, and C.A.I.R. attack me might be the greatest compliment I've ever received. #vigilance," tweeted an account that allegedly belongs to Box.
"Our concern has always been the children -- the students in the classroom and whether or not they're impacted by the things Ms. Box said," CAIR spokeswoman, Ruth Nasrullah, said following Box's resignation. "So we're happy, we're satisfied, with the fact she's no longer going to be working in the school."
Meanwhile Box, who had been teaching at the elementary school since 2013, said she would miss her students and treasure the time she spent with them.
