The Burlington School Board member whose Facebook posts drew fire as racially insensitive and belittling has apologized.

New North End school board member David Kirk, who represents Ward 7, sent the following statement via email Wednesday night:

At this time I would like to most sincerely apologize to the citizens of Burlington for a number of inappropriate social media posts. In the age of social media where we move at lightning speed, it is all too easy to simply repost and share items, sometimes carelessly, with a click of a button that may be hurtful to others. These posts are not a reflection of me, my family, my constituents and the decades of community service I have provided in Burlington. These posts were inexcusable and they have been removed.

Seven Days reported about the posts Tuesday night. 

While some defended Kirk’s posts as harmless sounding off, others saw them as disturbing and inappropriate for a public official. Upset parents emailed superintendent Yaw Obeng calling for Kirk to resign after learning about his posts defending the Confederate flag and suggesting that immigrant students ask too much of schools.

These were two of the posts: