A Wabash District #348 school board member is not backing down or apologizing for comments he made in a Tik Tok video critical of the Wabash County Health Department. In the video, Ryan Peter was critical of the health department’s quarantining and contact tracing policies. The backlash from the video led the District #348 office to issue a statement Wednesday afternoon:
“The Wabash County CUSD #348 School Board was made aware of the statements and views made on social media of one of its’ members. All of the other Board members categorically reject the statements and views made by this member and remain committed to the health and well-being of all CUSD #348 students, faculty, staff, and the entire Wabash County community.”
After the district’s statement, Peter issued a statement of his own:
“My videos on Tik Tok do not in any manner reflect the sentiment or thoughts of our board. Tik Tok is for nothing more than entertainment. My using the phrase “hey kids” is nothing more than the standard greeting I use at the beginning of nearly every Tik Tok to say hello to my 26,000 followers. Only if purposely taken out of context would one think I’m addressing children. Regarding the profanity and promotion of dishonesty I spoke of; I never speak this way in an open board meeting. The tone of my voice is one of passion and reflects the increasing frustration that I, as a school board member and a parent, am experiencing which are shared by the majority of the parents who call me about this situation. I field numerous calls from angry parents each week because their healthy child is continually quarantined from school. Their child’s school experience is being totally ruined. Each one of these parent’s frustration has gone beyond the boiling point. They are desperate for a solution, and they all feel like I am the only member of our board they can talk to, because I am the only one who will stand up for our kids. Although it wasn’t delivered in the most politically correct way, I provided a solution.”
The school board’s next meeting is Monday night in the grade school cafetorium.