A North Florida teacher is accused of repeatedly using the N-word in class, and telling his 7th and 8th grade students not to date African-Americans “because they are not worth it.”
Those are only a few of the violations that caused David Swinyar to be suspended from his teaching position at Kernan Middle School in Jacksonville.
Just after lunch on October 6, 2017, a student told a school board investigator that Swinyar and students were discussing relationships.
“If your boyfriend says bad things to you and/or treats you wrong, that means he’s acting like a n—–,” Swinyar said according to student testimony in a school district investigative report. “You all should not be dating all these different African-American boys because they are not worth it.”
The middle school has 1,148 students — 22.6 percent of whom are African-American.
In what appears to be a separate incident covered in the investigative report, students said Swinyar made other racist remarks in August 2017.
After he was confronted by a student, other students said Swinyar said, “I would never say that, but if I did, I am sorry.”
Florida’s teacher union, the Florida Education Association, declined to comment on the situation Thursday.
Swinyar received a 10-day unpaid suspension for the behaviors documented in the district’s investigation. CNN affiliate WFOX-WJAX reports Swinyar will also get a letter of reprimand and a mandatory referral to the Employee Assistance Program.
After this story was published, CNN was sent a letter Duval County Schools Superintendent Patricia Willis sent to the school board members on Thursday afternoon. That letter further outlined what the district plans to do with Swinyar.
“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,” said Willis. “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.”