LC-M teacher placed on unpaid leave after showing film

December 05, 2006 11:41 pm

— By Tommy Mann Jr.
The Orange Leader

Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School French teacher Heather Salazar is on administrative leave for one week without pay for showing an “inappropriate” film to her class.
The board of trustees for the LC-M Consolidated Independent School District made the decision Monday morning during a specially called meeting.
“There are policies and procedures we have in place for viewing films with certain content,” said Pauline Hargrove, LC-M superintendent. “This incident did not follow those procedures.”
Hargrove said two school supervisors watched the movie and reported back to her about the content.
“The school board did what it needed to do,” Hargrove said.
Hargrove said rumors of Salazar’s resignation are not true and she will be back at school once her administrative leave is over.
Salazar could not be reached Tuesday for comment.
A parent of one of the French class students wished to remain unidentified but disapproved of the movie being shown to her child.
“I was extremely offended because of what was shown in that film at school,” the mother said.
The student told her she and the other students in the class were “uncomfortable” because of some of the content.
The 2001 French movie, “Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain,” was nominated for an Academy Award for best Foreign Language Film. It was directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who also directed “Delicatessen.” The movie stars Audrey Tautou, known recently for playing the lead female role of Agent Sophie Neveu in “The Da Vinci Code.”
According to the Web site, www.kids-in-mind.com, among the reasons for the Motion Picture Association of America’s R-rating are “quick shots” of 12 couples having sex, “exposing bare breasts, backs and shoulders ...”

Reach this reporter at 409-883-3571, Ext. 2619, or tmann@orangeleader.com