Brainerd School Board Member Accused of Posting Racist Comments on Facebook

Sue Kern

Brainerd School Board member Sue Kern is being accused of posting racist and Islamophobic information to a joint Facebook page that she shares with her husband. The Facebook post come amid a recent protest in Brainerd.

During a virtual school board meeting held this week, nearly 25 people sent in comments addressing concerns of racist commentary coming from Brainerd School Board member Sue Kern and her husband Doug Kern’s joint Facebook page.

Brainerd Students Against Racism is a new organization of Brainerd Public Schools alumni who have formed together since former middle school teacher Kara Hall was accused of making racist comments on Facebook following the death of George Floyd.

During the meeting, the Brainerd Public School District declined to hear any comments from the public regarding Kern’s Facebook posts. Chairperson Tom Haglin said in a statement that the public comment period is not a proper venue for raising allegations against a representative of the school district. Haglin also noted that the Facebook post came from Doug Kern and not Sue Kern.

The majority of the comments from the joint account were made amid a heated Black Lives Matter protest over the weekend to demand police accountability from Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka.

Haglin says that the Brainerd Public School District will not follow up with any further action against Sue kern, as Doug Kern, who is the main user of the Facebook account, is not associated with the school district. Lakeland News has reached out to the Kerns, but no further comment has been made at this time.