Between 8 and 8:20 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 12, several teachers and staff members gathered at Washington Park to protest the San Mateo Union High School District (SMUHSD) decision to fly the American flag at half-staff in honor of Charlie Kirk. Participants held signs reading “No Honors for Bigotry & Hate” and distributed flyers explaining their intention, citing statements Kirk had made in the past.
“I want students to see their teachers as models of the value of civil disobedience,” English teacher and leadership advisor Bethany Li said. “That if you see something that you feel is out of bounds with your values, that you should speak up and say so and not be afraid to speak truth to power.”
Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist who co-founded student organization Turning Point USA, was fatally shot on Wednesday, Sept. 10, during an event for Turning Point USA’s “Prove Me Wrong” tour at Utah Valley University. President Donald Trump, who praised Kirk and credited him with mobilizing young conservative voters, issued a presidential proclamation on Sept. 10, ordering U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff at all federal public buildings and grounds until sunset on Sunday, Sept. 14.
In an email to districtwide educators on Thursday, Sept. 11, SMUHSD Superintendent Randall Booker said the district will follow Trump’s presidential proclamation and fly all U.S. flags at half-staff for the time requested. In a follow-up email on Friday, Sept. 12, Booker said the San Mateo County Office of Education directed the district to comply with the proclamation. He cited Board Policy 6115, which allows the flag to be flown at half-staff “by order of the President and in accordance with presidential instructions or orders.”
According to Booker, several parents and students emailed him because they were upset that the district didn’t intervene during the Sept. 12 protest. As an “immense proponent of free speech,” Booker said the staff were appropriately demonstrating “the true definition of civil disobedience,” so the district did not step in.
“I have no jurisdiction over that,” Booker said during a site visit to Burlingame on Thursday. Sept. 18, as part of his initiative to connect with educators. “That is not under my authority to condone or reprimand their First Amendment rights. Thank God we live in a country where you have that First Amendment right… This is not an issue about my personal opinion. This is an issue of our civil liberties.”
When asked how the protest was initiated, biology teacher Michael Dunn said many were upset that the school’s half-staff flag would be used to honor Kirk and his beliefs.
“A lot of teachers were very upset that we would have a flag at half-staff to honor a person who promoted ideas like school shootings as necessary and worthwhile in order to protect the Second Amendment,” Dunn said. “It seemed the epitome of hypocrisy that as educators in schools… we would honor a man who promotes such ideas.”
History teacher Matthew McDermott referenced a conversation with one of his students, noting the flag is lowered for Kirk despite Kirk not being a public official.
“One of my students brought up to me the fact that Charlie Kirk is not a public official, has never been elected to office, has never served in a broad public interest. He was not a school teacher… he was not a public servant, which is usually who we honor,” McDermott said.
For McDermott, flying the flag at half-staff is usually meant to “bring the country together.” He said honoring Kirk while not recognizing the other shooting victims, including former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, is “divisive” and does not call “for the end of violence.”
“What is it about him that unites us?” McDermott said. “We unite in the fact that people should not die, right? But what about the other deaths?”
*This story has been updated with additional details to include an interview from SMUHSD Superintendent Randall Booker.
Mary Gambertoglio • Sep 13, 2025 at 12:37 pm
Seriously BHS? I’m embarrassed. Fly the flag to commemorate the souls lost on 9/11. Yes it’s sad that he was shot and killed. But he stood for the worst bigotry possible. He was a vile man. He hated lgbtqz. He hated black people. When asked about guns and children getting murdered he said that some had to be killed in order for us to protect our gun rights.
TRO- In God We Trust • Sep 14, 2025 at 4:05 pm
@Mary. You are absolutely incorrect about Charlie! He was not vile, not a bigot and did not hate the groups of people you mentioned. Your comments just show the mass majority of us that understood what Charlie was about, what he stood for and his love for God and humanity.………that
you have not taken the time to listen to Charlie’s words and interactions with people to see that your comments are not aligned with truth. You can come to your own speculations and judgement of him because you are either brainwashed and/or not willing to really understand, research and know that his intentions were to bring healthy debate and discussion to our younger generation, to help them have a voice and to help bring faith and God back to the forefront for all. Your choice to believe in nonsense and to not believe in common sense is definitely your choice, but please don’t spew your false and negative statements on social media. Not to mention, why do certain individuals such as yourself feel the need to strike at someone who was really trying to do good in the world (whether you believe it or not) and had not a shred of violence in him. But yet some lost, non God loving violent individual takes Charlie’s life and you can’t see that, that is the wrong, “vile”, evil and disgusting part of all of this. That 22 year old puke has brought hardship to not only to Charlie’s family and all the world of people who loved Charlie, but his own family and community as well. Not to mention all the $$$$ we the people will pay in taxes for his cowardly act of murder! If you feel the need to spew negativity, how about direct it where it really deserves to be!
Now, let’s pray for Charlie’s family – his parents, his wife and two young children for the strength, love and the light of God to navigate forward.
Dean Oliver • Sep 16, 2025 at 11:00 am
Seriously Mary you should be embarrassed but not for BHS, you should be embarrassed.
For speaking about something, you know, absolutely nothing about. Go online and you can see any number of videos of Charlie. Supporting the LGBTQ community and their right to be whoever they want to be. Charlie had something for everybody touched many hearts, and it seems the only people who have negative things to say about them have never even heard him.
Grace • Sep 16, 2025 at 3:55 pm
Mary please show me one video of Charlie Kirk evidencing he hated gays and black. I’d love to sit down with you so you can show me. Where did he advocate for stoning gays? I bet you did not know he was working with Ric Grenell to request that over 100 countries legalize being gay. Unfortunately, it’s apparent that you have not done any research on this issue other than listening to propaganda. Sad.
Michelle • Sep 22, 2025 at 12:33 pm
Mary cannot back up a single thing she said with proof that Charlie Kirk said or was any of these things. I had hoped she was an ignorant student influenced by Tik Tok soundbites, but no, sadly she appears to be a local librarian.