POCATELLO — The harsh comments reportedly posted on the Idaho State Journal’s Facebook page by a Century High School teacher have gotten lots of attention in East Idaho and beyond during the past few days.

So much so that her employer, Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25, issued a Sunday news release stating it’s reviewing the matter.

In her Facebook posts, the teacher, identified as Lori Dixon Lombard on social media, reportedly attacked the appearance of a local man and made other mean spirited remarks about him. She also voiced frustration and criticism about the Tuesday election of Donald Trump to another term as president.

Dixon Lombard’s posts have caught the attention of numerous people in East Idaho and at least one national online entity has posted about them.

Her posts have since vanished but they were reportedly in response to an Idaho State Journal Facebook post on election night alerting readers that Trump had won the state of Idaho for the third consecutive presidential election.

Regarding Trump’s election success in Idaho, Dixon Lombard reportedly wrote: “This just shows that Idahoans don’t pay attention to real data and what a terrible job he did and don’t care about felony convictions. We should do away with criminal background checks in this state as most citizens don’t care if someone lied, stole, and defrauded banks and taxpayers out of millions. Any felon deserves a job.”

About the local man she was responding to via Facebook, Dixon Lombard reportedly posted: “I hope your mistress or daughter have an unwanted pregnancy, wait, I looked at your picture, you don’t have a mistress... And probably never got anyone to have a daughter by you unless it was by force.”

She also posted in response to the man: “Seriously... cover your profile picture. You are pathetic looking and are opening yourself to ridicule. Everyone will know you can’t get a woman and don’t have children unless you forced yourself on some poor woman.”

Dixon Lombard, a career and technical education teacher at Century, was not available for comment, while the man she was reportedly responding to on Facebook declined to comment for this story.

The Pocatello-Chubbuck School District’s statement about Dixon Lombard’s social media comments is as follows: “Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25 is aware of concerns regarding a recent social media interaction involving one of our teachers. These concerns have been forwarded to the district and school administration for review. We take them very seriously. The district expects respectful dialogue and will address concerns constructively. Ensuring everyone’s safety and well-being is our top priority. Any threats or harassment will be referred to the proper authorities. While personal opinions shared outside school hours on personal social media and unrelated to the school district are protected, we realize those expressions may impact the community. Whether in agreement or not, the district is not responsible for employees’ conduct or speech outside the school setting. As this is a personnel matter, we are limited in what we can share publicly. However, this situation underscores the importance of open communication, mutual respect, and a positive environment for all. It is crucial to balance individual free speech with the responsibilities of educators as role models. In the classroom and school setting, our teachers focus on the curriculum, not personal/political views. For further questions or feedback, please reach out. Thank you for your support of our school community.”

The School District also provided an online link to its social media policy, https://go.boarddocs.com/id/pcsd25/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=BFVM8D59FE95.

When asked if Dixon Lombard’s online comments violated the policy, the district said the matter is under review.

The district’s policy does state, “Public school employees are generally held to a higher moral standard than the public at large. They are expected to be role models for students. They are expected to conduct themselves within enumerated legal and ethical boundaries and are expected to demonstrate sound professional judgment.”

The district’s policy also states, “School employees can speak out as citizens on matters of public concern and may also speak out if their speech does not disrupt the workplace. However, free speech that involves purely personal or private things, speech that disturbs the workplace or speech that is in violation of the above privacy limitations is not generally protected under the First Amendment.”

Another excerpt from the district’s policy states, “Refrain from any harassment, intimidation, bullying, sexual comments, illegal actions, mention of use of alcohol or drugs or other such similar postings or electronic communications that are inappropriate for student viewing and depict oneself, the district, a district student or employee negatively.”

The district’s policy concludes by stating: “Inappropriate postings on social media sites could lead to discipline, up to and including termination and could lead to a certificated employee’s suspension or loss of a teaching credential.”