‘He was dangerous:’ The harassment Beaufort County teachers face by the book ban movement

Hilton Head Island Middle School teacher Mardy Burleson never thought she’d consider buying a gun to protect herself. Then David Cook started a series of events that changed her mind.

Burleson, who teaches multimedia design and engineering at the school, was recently called out by a far-right newsletter for displaying district-provided rainbow stickers and giving students a survey asking about preferred pronouns.

It was the same survey she’d given out for the past four years, and she’d thought nothing of the bright stickers.

“I was terrified,” she said. “I feared so much for my safety that I was willing to compromise my values to protect my family because I felt so unsafe.”

The newsletter was published February 22, about four months after Superintendent Frank Rodriguez pulled nearly 100 books from Beaufort County School District library shelves for review in October and the district plunged into the highly politicized nationwide discourse on book banning and parent’s rights over schooling. Since the titles were removed, BCSD’s review process has garnered national news coverage.

Burleson and other Beaufort County employees have been labeled as sexual groomers — predators who build a relationship with a child to abuse them — on social media, reported to law enforcement officers, targeted in public information requests and harassed on social media, in-person and in front of their bosses. Much of the harassment comes from Cook, a Hilton Head Island resident whose children attend Beaufort County public schools.

It’s made teachers like Hilton Head Island Middle School literary coach Kathleen Harper, who has been in the classroom for over 25 years, fear for their safety, and personal and professional reputation. Cook has access to school grounds as a parent and has specifically been targeting Burleson and Harper, who have taught his children. Despite Cook’s claims and complaints, he didn’t ask to have his children removed from Burleson and Harper’s classes, according to the women.

In response, the district submitted evidence of email and social media harassment from Cook to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, who are actively investigating according to reports obtained through a Freedom of Information Act submitted by the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. Harper filed her own report, and there are incident reports with both The Beaufort County School District and Harper as the victim of Cook’s harassment. The district also placed Burleson on paid leave in February.

But as Burleson and Harper return to school this August, they say they still feel concerned for their and their family’s safety, leaving them questioning whether or not to stick with the profession that they love.

“These are people that are strong supporters of guns and violence and vengeance and, you know, vigilante-ism,” Burleson said. “The more and more I think about this, the more and more uncomfortable I am.”

Cook didn’t respond to multiple emails and calls requesting comment.

‘They told me he was dangerous’

Cook calls himself a “Dad-vocate.”

This year that’s taken the form of throwing chicken feed at the Beaufort County school board and harassing teachers on social media, email and in person.

Cook is harassing Harper over one of her district-database-sourced texts mentioning circumcision in a unit on modern-day slavery that she read aloud to a class in February. From there Cook took to calling and emailing Harper, demanding in-person meetings, saying her actions are “grounds for far more than a nasty email,” threatening criminal or civil action, and calling her sexually abusive.

“When he would come in the school people would warn me and tell me to stay out of sight,” Harper said. “When we had a fire drill and he was in the school one day they told me to go to a different area of the building so he couldn’t see me.”

During the week of May 29, he hand-delivered a “thank you” note to the school accusing Harper of indoctrinating students. It was the last week of school and Cook also posted on Facebook “If you’re in support of giving sexually explicit material to children, it’s important to remember......Dead Pedophiles Don’t Re-Offend.”

“I was scared,” Harper said. “I was frightened.”

The next day, she said the district’s director of protective services David Grissom told her the district was worried that Cook’s recent social media posts had escalated. On May 31 the district filed its report supplemented with email and social media evidence to the BCSO.

“They told me to watch my back in public,” Harper said. “They told me he is dangerous and they’re concerned for me. They encouraged me to file a police report which I did that day.”

Harper hopes that Cook will be served a no-trespass order for school property, but so far no action has been taken according to BCSO spokesperson Maj. Angela Viens.

District spokesperson Candace Bruder declined to comment on the situation between Cook and the teachers specifically but provided a written statement saying that the district has safety measures designed to keep students and staff safe including armed law enforcement and emergency notification systems to law enforcement.

‘This is a bullet’

Burleson, who has been with BCSD for 10 years with five as a full-time teacher, said she fell in love with teaching from the moment she stepped into the classroom and is passionate about helping disadvantaged children.

In February of last year, Burleson had to stop doing what she loves.

She was put on paid administrative leave because the survey she asked students to complete “has caused concerns with some parents and community members,” according to a letter from Chief Administrative and Human Resources Officer Alice Walton. Burleson said Walton repetitively told her it was because of her safety.

At the beginning of each semester, Burleson gave out an optional survey in-person and on students’ Google Classroom, which is accessible to parents, although the survey said “I promise to keep these just between you and me.” The survey asked questions like “What are your preferred pronouns?” and “Do you want me to use your pronouns in class and in messages home or is it private between you and me?”

Burleson said that many other teachers have a survey like that, asking the same questions. Bruder, the district spokesperson, said in a written statement that get-to-know-you surveys are a typical practice and the district doesn’t have specific rules about teachers asking students’ pronouns.

But in February, when Burleson had one of Cook’s children in her class, her principal asked her to remove questions about pronouns and the sentence about keeping answers between her and the students.

Bruder said “there should always be open dialogue and transparency between teachers and parents.” Burleson said it’s more complicated than that. During mandated training, teachers are taught to be trusted adults that students can confide in, according to Burleson.

“A trusted adult is not always the family,” said Burleson, who said her highschooler, Blu, has lost a friend to suicide after they were unable to come out to their parents as LGBTQ+.

In 2022, 45% of LGBTQ+ youth seriously considered attempting suicide, according to the Trevor Project, an American nonprofit organization focused on LGBTQ+ suicide prevention. The nonprofit also found that LGBTQ+ youth who said their school was LGBTQ+ affirming reported lower rates of attempting suicide.

Burleson said that if a parent came to her asking about their child’s pronouns and it seemed like an unsafe situation she would call in district administrators and professionals before telling the parents.

“I love these kids,” Burleson said. “Many of us you’ve already seen jump in front of a bullet (for students). And for me, in my personal experiences, this is a bullet that I will jump in front of.”

Later in February, her name and photo were on a far-right newsletter, The Overton Report. The newsletter is Charleston, South Carolina based and run by extremist Corey Allen, who also live streamed the Jan. 6 insurrection on the steps of the U.S. Capitol with the caption “get ready, because the best is yet to come.”

The newsletter said Burleson “spent years up to this point transitioning her own daughter into a ‘son’ and has made no secret expressing her own full-fledged support for the controversial ideas behind gender-ideology.”

Burleson didn’t fully process what was happening until later that evening.

“After school, after the kids all left, I sat down and I read it and just about lost my (mind),” she said. “You pulled my (child) into this (...) you’ve crossed a line now.”

Burleson said Blu, her child, was bullied worse because of the article, but Blu is handling the attention better than she is.

“They get bullied a lot in school,” Burleson said. “Most trans kids do here (...) If anything (they’re) more strong and capable and compassionate and empathetic than I am.”

Two days after the newsletter was published, Burleson was placed on paid administrative leave. The letter from human resources said that it was because her survey “caused concerns with some parents and community members,” despite Burleson saying she was told it was for her safety.

Is Cook allowed on school campus?

As of now, yes. Cook is still allowed on school property.

Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner said that there have been conversations between the school district and the sheriff’s department about serving Cook with a no-trespass order. However, since school is still out for summer he said “it would not be something we would entertain at this particular moment.” Tanner said the BCSO will consider the no-trespass order once school starts.

“We’re not going to allow someone to come in and breach the overall purpose and intent of a school,” Tanner said. “We’re not going to allow it.”

While school ended for the summer June 2, Cook’s social media harassment didn’t. He continues to single out Harper and school board members on Facebook. He threw chicken feed at the school board during a public meeting June 27. The board wrote him a letter directing him to not violate public comment rules again.

It’s caused a heavy mental toll on Burleson and Harper. Both said they feel unsafe in their own community, even when getting groceries or gas.

“I go through all the social media and just scour it,” Burleson said. “I’ve spent hours, hours, Googling my name to see where this is popping up.”

Students go back to class August 21, but Burleson and Harper return to the building in the first weeks of August to prepare for the upcoming year.

As the pair of teachers wait to see if BCSO will issue a no-trespass order, the uncertainty forces them to weigh their safety against their love for students, teachers and the Hilton Head Island community.

“We’re starting to feel concern for safety and our family’s safety as the school year approaches,” Burleson said. “The only reason I’m back this year is honestly because of my colleagues that are going through it. And I don’t want them to go through it themselves.”