The family of a Philadelphia high school student says the teen is getting threats, after sparking a controversy with a political T-shirt.
"The kids now, in that school are sending her threats on Facebook and they're texting her too. And these people used to be her friends" said Richard Pawlucy.
His daughter Samantha, a sophomore at Charles Carroll High School in Port Richmond, wore a pink Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan T-shirt last week on dress down day.
No one made an issue of it until she got to geometry class.
"The teacher told me to get out of the classroom, I said no," Samantha said.
"She told me to take off my shirt and said that she has another one if I need one. And then the teacher asked me… 'are your parents Republican?' I said, 'I don't know.' She said that's like her wearing a KKK shirt."
Samantha was so embarrassed by the public criticism, she told her parents she didn’t want to return to school.
On Friday, her parents went to the school to file a formal complaint against teacher Lynette Gaymon. Richard Pawlucy says students taunted them through school windows, even though the superintendent plans to tell students that Samantha did nothing wrong.
"He wants to put out a bulletin for the children, that Samantha was in the right and the teacher was wrong" said Pawlucy.
Students are supporting Gaymon, a popular math teacher. Tight security stopped them from a planned rally on Friday. But one told NBC10 "since day one, she's been about kids' rights and kids' expression and I think she's a good teacher."
Richard Pawlucy said Gaymon did apologize to his daughter, but said she was joking.
A spokesperson for the Philadelphia School District tells NBC10 the teacher was transferred to another classroom as the district investigates the incident.
