GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — A Guilford County teacher is out of a job all because of a text message he admitted to sending a student.
Michael Yelverton says he chose to resign after a parent met with him to talk about a text message he sent to her daughter.
Shuntaneka Brooks says it was her 17-year-old daughter who was on the other end of the message.
"As a mother you're like, my heart starts beating extra hard and she shows me the text message from her band director. And it set me on fire."
Brooks says the message in question was from back in March and was part of a longer conversation the two had over text message. Her daughter told her about it this weekend after talking it over with some friends.
A screen shot shows the text saying:
"We're going to f--- oneday {emoji} just don't fall in love gosh"
Guilford County Schools says Northeast Guilford High School's Band Director Michael Yelverton resigned Monday. The district couldn't say why or comment on anything else, but Yelverton himself helped fill in some of the blanks.
In a phone call Friday with WFMY News 2, Yelverton admitted he sent the message and said in hindsight it was inappropriate and that he shouldn't have sent it. But he defends himself, saying it shouldn't have been taken seriously and that Brooks is making too big a deal of all this. When asked if he'd want to do an on-camera interview, Yelverton said he'd consult with his attorneys.
"To read the message that he sent her and it was so blunt and there was no way you could just mistake it for a joke," Brooks says. "There's just no way."
At this point, there is no criminal investigation. Brooks hasn't pressed charges and isn't even sure there's enough of a case to do that. But she wanted to come forward to prevent other students from being in this position.
Since Yelverton resigned, she says her daughter's been bullied, but she's also had a lot of support. She just doesn't want her daughter to feel guilty.
"He was the one that decided to gamble his hand and the dealer took his hand this time."
WFMY News 2 also talked with attorney David Freedman, who isn't involved in the case. He said the text message might be improper and would likely have cost Yelverton his job if he didn't resign, but he didn't think it was illegal.
