ORLANDO, Fla. – Orange County school district officials said a middle school dean is under investigation after being caught on cell phone video flipping off students with his middle finger.
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The video was taken after school on March 1 and was later posted on YouTube. The 15-second clip shows a group of students standing outside the school as parents were picking up children. The dean, identified by district officials as Jason Gines, walks past the camera and flips his middle finger. Students are heard bursting into screams and laughter.
District spokeswoman Kathy Marsh said Gines has been in charge of student discipline at Freedom Middle School for the past year.
Before the video was removed from YouTube, posters claiming to be students said they supported the dean.
Parents and adults picking children up after school Wednesday said all educators are held to a higher standard and the dean should have known better.
"As a PTSA member, as an educator, and as a parent, that is very distressing because even if you want to establish rapport with a student, there are other ways in which you establish that rapport," said Victoria Tierney, whose son attends the school.
"That's not appropriate, especially for a person that's supposed to be in charge of them," said Luisa Jaramillo. "They have a lot of strict rules for the kids for them to follow when they're in school. So, how are they going to teach that to them and then expect them to follow rules and expect them to be respected?"
Marsh said Gines has not been suspended from his position, but the school district is investigating what happened.
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.