Supporters and critics of a Moreno Valley history teacher who was placed on leave after a profane anti-Trump rant in class clashed over his fate at the Moreno Unified District board meeting Valley Tuesday.
The Valley View High School teacher called the president-elect a “cowardly draft-dodging rapist” during a Nov. 6 lecture for his AP history students. He told them that Black and Latino voters don’t support Kamala Harris because she has a “vagina and uterus,” and claimed that Latino voters who support Trump want to be white.
The teacher has been placed on administrative leave while the incident is investigated, according to a spokesperson for the Moreno Valley Unified School District.
Tuesday’s board meeting came to a head when some parents demanded he be fired, while several students asked the district to consider their teacher’s character and not judge his entire career on a single incident .
“I think the way he approached it was a little unprofessional,” student Ezell Moreno said before the board meeting. “I believe he was acting in good faith, but is he going to be fired for one incident when he has done so many good things throughout his teaching career?”
The school district has not identified the teacher and taken no action regarding his future as an educator. Students identified him as Maximiliano Perez, a history teacher who participated in several school clubs, including the chess club. He could not be reached for comment.
In a recording of his lecture shared by a conservative commentator on former and future president.
“Can we find ourselves without human rights? Yes. Will this happen to you? Most likely not. Which is a good thing, but did Donald Trump quote Hitler? Yes. Does he embody some of Hitler’s ideas? Yes,” he told his students in the video.
Five students expressed their support for Perez at the board meeting, describing him as a dedicated teacher who encourages independent thinking and cares deeply about the well-being of his students.
One student, Jailene Bailey, even credited him with saving her life by offering support when she was struggling with mental health issues.
“Mr. Perez saved my life and helped me continue my education by telling me that I am one of thousands of students and that I believe he has the power to help other students just like he helped me,” she said. “I really hope that in the future I can still see him and give him the biggest smile and wave.”
But several parents and other adults in the Moreno Valley community said Perez’s inappropriate and racist comments merited serious disciplinary action.
“I am here to complain about the professor who used vulgar political language,” Oscar Avila said. “I say you strip him, he won’t be able to work in schools anymore, remove him from office.”
As a Latino, Avila said he was particularly upset by Perez’s recorded comments telling Latino students that many of their fathers, uncles and grandfathers “want to be white.”
Student Joel Mata acknowledged that Perez’s recent behavior “should not be dismissed” but asked school board members to focus on student testimony about his character.
Mata said that, contrary to the accounts presented online, Perez does not impose his beliefs on his students.
“’I don’t care if you’re a Republican or a Democrat, join your party and make it better,’ that’s a direct quote from Mr. Perez, the so-called indoctrinator of our school,” Mata said.
Student Damian Ayonn said Perez is a “vital figure to many students here, not only as an educator, but also as a mentor, support and guide through some of the most difficult times of our lives” .
He urged the school board to consider the “profound impact” Perez had on the Valley View community and realize that “his absence would leave a void in our lives that no other teacher could fill.”
Kenneth Prado, an administrator in the neighboring Hemet Unified School District, who spoke in his capacity as an individual, said the students’ speeches did not change his opinion.
“I’ve heard students sit here and say how much they admired him as a teacher,” Prado said. “That may be true, but when you’re in a position like that, you’re held to a higher standard.”
Community member Fred Banuelos, who attended the meeting wearing a “Trump 2024” T-shirt, said Perez’s outburst and use of profanity was unacceptable.
“There have to be consequences for the things you say,” he said. “I don’t know if you should be fired, but… there have to be major consequences.”
Several dozen students walked out of class Tuesday morning in protest and demanded the school district reinstate their teacher, according to an OnSceneTV video.
“At the end of the speech, he offered everyone a hug or if they wanted to talk more,” student Devonee Casas said. “They twisted his story to make him believe something else.”
“I think it was completely taken out of context and it made him look bad,” said student Jada Carroll, who was in class during the lesson. “I’m proud of our school for talking about it. It’s good to see that people actually care.
