Florida teacher suspended for 10 days for using racial slur and saying girls shouldn’t date African American men

A Florida middle school teacher was suspended for 10 days for using the “N” word” and also for telling his female students not to date Black men because “they are not worth it.”

David Swinyar, a Kernan Middle School teacher called his students dumb and made comments like “You all should not be dating these different African American boys because they are not worth it.”

David made the statement last year and an investigation into him began in October, according to a letter from Kernan Middle School Principal Julie Hemphill posted online by WJAX’s Danielle Avitable.

Swinyar’s suspension without pay began on Thursday, WJAX reported. When asked on Wednesday why Swinyar wasn’t fired, the school district told WJAX in a statement in part that “Teacher discipline is governed by the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the district and the union, which provides for progressive discipline.”

“While the employee has not been the subject of a prior investigation,” the statement added later, “due to the severity of the conduct in the referenced investigation, several steps in the progressive discipline process were skipped. The recommendation for a 10-day suspension without pay was approved by the Board on Tuesday, March 6 during the School Board meeting.”

The school board’s meeting notes from March 6 show that it approved the suspension “for unprofessional conduct.”