SAN ANTONIO – A trustee with the Edgewood Independent School District is accused of making a Facebook post over the weekend in which a man was pictured with his head in a noose and two children pulling on the other end of the rope.
The post on the page of trustee Dina Serrano included the caption: “Happy Father’s Day Babe! Look what you helped create.”
Serrano, who is Edgewood’s board vice president, issued an apology about the post on Thursday.
“I sincerely apologize to Edgewood ISD, family, friends, supporters and my tight knit community for my poor judgement in choosing to post a 2015 Arizona family vacation photo on Facebook,” Serrano wrote. “My naivety in thinking this was an innocent fun picture was interpreted as malicious, insensitive and racist. I get it, being a Latina woman from the barrio, I understand how hurtful my actions were. I am sorry.”
The district’s board president, Martha Castilla, said in a statement she was “extremely disappointed” by the post.
“I am extremely disappointed by the poor judgment demonstrated by a member of the Edgewood ISD School Board. As board members in EISD, we make every effort to be sensitive to the entire community we serve,” Castilla said. “The EISD School Board will not overlook any type of behavior that is considered offensive. This does not reflect the Edgewood ISD Board of Trustees nor the Edgewood Independent School District. Our goal is to provide a safe learning environment where we empower our students through education.”
One person told KSAT 12 the man in the photo is Serrano’s husband and described the post as “shocking, racist, and distasteful for the community she represents.”
Serrano was elected in November 2018, but had to wait until last month to be sworn in as the district transitioned from a state-appointed board of managers back to a board of trustees.