East Texas teacher on leave after reporting threats, speaking out on TikTok to meet with admin

Makenzie Boucher, Shreveport Times
·2 min read
20

A Waskom ISD middle school teacher and coach has set up a GoFundMe account following being placed on administrative leave.

On Wednesday, Jan. 18, Patrick Durbin reported a possible threat made by a student.

According to Durbin, around 2:30 p.m. that day, two students told him that another student had threatened to shoot him.

Durbin, who teaches sixth-grade social studies and coaches football, basketball and track, took to social media after he says the administration did not handle the situation with any urgency or concern.

Patrick Durbin photographed on January 25, 2023.
Patrick Durbin photographed on January 25, 2023.

Durbin made a TikTok video on Jan. 27, highlighting why he started the GoFundMe.

More: East Texas teacher, coach placed on administrative leave after reporting threats

@patrickdurbin778

go fund me is on my page. I want everyone to know thank you for your suport

♬ original sound - patrickdurbin778

"It has been a week since I was put on administrative leave. I have been asked questions about why I have a GoFundMe? Well, I am not a member of the ATPE (Association of Texas Professional Educators)," said Durbin. "I cannot get a lawyer for this incident or this case. So, I am paying out of pocket for a lawyer."

Durbin told the Shreveport Times that on Tuesday, Jan. 31 he was requested by Waskom ISD superintendent, Rae Ann Patty, to come to a meeting Feb. 1, and she suggested that if he has legal representation he bring that person as well. As of Tuesday night, Durbin does not know who else will be in attendance or what exactly the meeting will be about.

Waskom Elementary in Waskom, Texas, in January 2023.
Waskom Elementary in Waskom, Texas, in January 2023.

Durbin has been unable to raise enough money to hire a lawyer. He said on the Jan. 27 TikTok, "I have tried to be patient, I have tried to be quiet. I miss my kids, I miss teaching, I miss coaching, I miss my coworkers, but I had to do the right thing. Because God forbid if something had happened, and he did something that was heinous, that we have seen two or three in the last month. I could have never slept with myself."

Read: Louisiana high school teacher on leave after body shaming TikTok video surfaces

Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: East Texas teach at center of threat controversy to meet with school admin