Dammit, Florida. On the same day that Gunshine State lawmakers voted to arm teachers, a Jacksonville middle school teacher was not fired for being an outspoken bigot.
In October, almost two dozen middle school students reported that teacher David Swinyar went full-on, MAGA-hat racist in math class, with a sprinkle of sexual predation.
On Wednesday, a mere five months later, his school board opted to reward him with an unpaid two-week vacation suspension! The complaints are as varied as they are disgusting. It almost seems like this dude WANTS to lose his job.
A Florida middle school teacher will keep his job after an investigation found he used a racial slur in front of students more than once and told them not to date black boys.
David Swinyar has also been accused by students of belittling them, confronting them in a “physically aggressive manner” and yelling at them, according to an investigation conducted by the Duval County School District.
He will face a 10-day unpaid suspension after the investigation found merit to all the complaints.
How does a 48-year-old man make the leap from pre-algebra to white supremacy-flavored relationship advice to pre-teens, exactly?
It all started with the F-word. Because everyone knows N always comes after F.
...while teaching his math class, Swinyar had a conversation with students about the word “fuck” after he overheard it in his classroom.
“If my daughter was dating someone who used the ‘f’ word, I wouldn’t have any respect for that nigger,” Swinyar said, according to the report.
In the same conversation about dating, Swinyar used the slur again.
“If your boyfriend says bad things to you and/or treats you wrong, that means that he’s acting like a nigger,” he said, per the report. “You all should not be dating all these different African Americans [sic] boys because they are not worth it.”
That’s not all, folks!
After Swinyar used the racial slur during the October incident, a student in his class went to the school’s office to call his mother and tell her about what happened.
“Mr. Swinyar yelled at the student and called the student a liar,” the school’s office assistant told investigators. “He also snatched the phone away from the student.”
Swinyar—who, again, has not been fired—also was quick to insult students’ intelligence, because everyone knows that’s how any good teacher inspires struggling young people.
He also allegedly said “You are in my class because you failed the FSA,” which is the Florida Standards Assessments issued each year.
He also allegedly called students dumb.
Swinyar also reportedly called the students “idiots.”
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Swinyar also makes female students uncomfortable.
One female student said she felt uncomfortable because the teacher allegedly “makes female students uncomfortable by staring at their breasts and other parts,” the report says.
Oh, and he’s also fan of the shimmering blob of hate flax that currently occupies the White House, according to Newsweek.
Swinyar was also accused of breaching professional standards by discussing his political affiliations in class, often expressing support for President Donald Trump.
Swinyar was also accused of viewing pornography in the classroom, but a letter from the school says investigators were not able to substantiate those claims.
HuffPost reveals that the investigation report also mentions other incidents taking place as recently as February, when a student reporting that “when Mr. Swinyar gets mad, he becomes aggressive.”
Somehow, this man kept his job. But at least one Kernan parent isn’t surprised by the incident, or the school’s inadequate response.
In the report, one parent said there needed to be a “heightened awareness surrounding racial issues in the country as a whole” and that she “believes our school system should seek to provide a safe haven for our students.”
“Moreover, this is not the first racial incident between a teacher and a student at Kernan Middle School,” that the mother has experienced, she told investigators.
On the upside, during the same school board meeting where Swinyar’s vacation suspension was announced, the district passed a resolution that will keep their teachers unarmed.
So even though these young people will have to face this bad guy after all their hard work to get him fired, at least the students don’t have to worry about Swinyar getting approved to keep a gun in his desk.
Monday, Mar 12, 2018 · 4:42:19 PM +00:00 · JessicaSutherland
On Friday, Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Patricia Willis responded to those criticizing the district’s actions with regards to Swinyar, including the NAACP.
Willis’ letter states that after Swinyar’s suspension ends, he will not be teaching math again, and is likely not to be brought back next year.
Following the employee’s suspension without pay, he will be reassigned to an appropriate district position with no contact with students for the remainder of the year. As an annual contract employee, Mr. Swinyar’s employment contract with the district expires June 30, 2018. In May, recommendations for contract renewals for all annual employees will be considered."
Read the full letter here.