Residents of Santee found a disgusting racial slur and a Swastika on an elementary school fence earlier this week — outraging local parents.
A picture from the Facebook group “All Things Happening in Santee,” showed a pink-and-white swastika and a yellow, white, and black rendition of the word n—-r on a fence where summer camp students enter the Rio Seco Elementary School.
The anonymous person who posted the photo said the offensive decorations were “quickly taken down, but not before some families and kids saw it.”
“If you know something about this, report this trash. We should be way past this garbage,” they wrote.
The Santee School District said it removed the vandalism immediately and reported it to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.
“The Santee School District strongly condemns acts of hate and vandalism. Recently, we discovered an offensive and hateful symbol displayed on a shared fencing area between the school campus and the SportsPlex,” the district wrote in a statement to 10 News.
“The vandalism was removed immediately after District staff became aware of the incident, and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office was notified right away. We are working closely with our community partners and law enforcement.
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“Hate has no place in our schools or our community. We remain strictly committed to fostering safe and welcoming learning environments for all students, staff, and families.”The incident comes as the City of Santee continues efforts to strengthen its reputation and promote unity following past incidents involving hate groups.”
Residents quickly grew incensed with the hateful symbol and language.
“That’s very upsetting,” Soreen Norton, an East County resident, told 10 News. “Especially… an elementary school.”
Some in the Facebook group commented that the activity shouldn’t be unexpected because the area is considered racist. One commenter called Santee, “Klantee,” and others nicknamed it “KKKlantee.”
“Surprised, not at all. Disappointed absolutely,” one person wrote.
But residents feel the hateful public conduct shouldn’t be representative of the whole community.
“It’s kind of sad that that’s happening because, you know, it’s the old saying, one bad apple,” another East County resident, Dion Milton, told 10 News. “You can’t let it spoil the whole tree.”
Santee is a majority-white rural community in San Diego County near the San Diego River.
