A Virginia elementary school was considering installing a privacy screen along a portion of its playground so students could not read an explicit political sign that one resident placed on their property across the street.
But the sign, which appeared to say ‘F— Biden and f— you for voting for him,” according to footage captured by WCYB, was removed before the school followed through on that plan, Nickelsville Elementary School Principal Tracy Stallard told Fox News Digital on Monday.
Stallard said she had no comment about the nature of the sign and its proximity to school grounds.
Nickelsville Elementary School is located southwest of Roanoke.
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However, locals in the area criticized the sign and its message, when it was still up.
“My message to him would be to please open your Bible,” neighbor Linda Cantrell told WCYB. “Take care of your children and grandchildren and our future to come because that’s what we depend on and Nickelsville is our future. And please protect our children. And right now he’s not protecting our children. He’s allowing this to escalate.”
“It teaches violence. It teaches everything that’s wrong. And if I thought I could’ve pulled that sign down in the middle of the night I would’ve,” Cantrell continued.
“I’m a firm believer in freedom of speech,” Brandon Dorton, another neighbor, told WCYB. “But, that is a total different set of rules when it’s that close to a school.”
President Joe Biden pauses as he speaks during the Kennedy Center Honorees Reception at the White House in Washington, D.C. on Sunday.
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
A video captured by the station last week showed caution tape set up along one side of the Nickelsville Elementary School playground which was school officials’ initial attempt to keep the sign from the students’ view.
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The school, according to WCYB, would have had to spend $200 to install a privacy screen so children wouldn’t be able to read the message.
School officials reached out to the property owner last week to see if the sign could be removed, the station also reported.