A Geneva High School teacher accused of making a derogatory gay and racial remark in class received a warning notice by the district's board of education last Tuesday, Oct. 13.After investigating a student complaint alleging that teacher Dave Burk used the term "some Black fag" in a class lecture Oct. 5, Geneva School District 304 officials issued Burk a "notice to remedy"—a warning that a repeat offense could result in dismissal.
The board determined the consequence after a two-hour closed session following a regularly scheduled board meeting. The school district then released a statement that deemed Burk's behavior unacceptable, but offered no further comment on the reasoning behind the chosen consequence.
Craig Collins, District 304's assistant superintendent for personnel services, said, "I can assure you that the board and the administration are very concerned about what has happened and we will be engaging in some ongoing conversations once we put a little bit of distance between the incident and the board meeting. We have every intention to look at this situation for what it is and ensure that that it does not happen again."
But for Geneva High School senior Jordan Hunter, 17, the openly gay student who filed the complaint, the board's decision is unsatisfactory.
"I don't believe [ writing a warning letter ] is acceptable or serious enough of a consequence for what he did," Hunter told Windy City Times.
According to Hunter, Burk was explaining the National Endowment for the Arts in a lecture about tax dollars during his 10th hour consumer-education class when he said, "How do you feel about your tax dollars going to pay some Black fag in New York to take pictures of other Black fags?"
Hunter filed the complaint immediately after class and the investigation quickly followed. He said the district assured him the issue was being handled seriously, but the end result left him feeling otherwise.
"I think it's ridiculous that the school seemed to not take it as seriously as they promised me they were taking it," he said. "I don't think they thought about it any terms other than what the handbook says. I think they looked at it as he made an indecent remark and not as anything more."
Hunter said he believes Burk should have been fired, but Burk is a tenured teacher of 28 years, which decreases the possibility in these situations.
According to Illinois State Board of Education spokesperson Mary Fergus, Illinois case law has shown that if a tenured teacher does something not considered "completely egregious" and the board determines it remediable, that teacher may often only receive a warning.
Hunter said he's not sure if there's any further action he can take with the school district, but he's looking into the matter.
In light of the incident, District 304 is planning to address some of the language in its teacher discipline bylaws about harassment. The bylaws do not specifically mention sexual orientation on the list of prohibited forms of discrimination, but Collins said this specific policy is due for review in the next couple of months.
"The timing is perfect," Collins said. "We may move [ that policy review ] up ahead of some other ones, but we'll certainly get to it as soon as we can and not delay it unnecessarily."
In the meantime, Hunter hopes that his example and all the national media attention the incident has received will inspire others to speak up in these situations.
"Students have said [ Burk has ] made similar comments, but no one has reported it before," he said. "I think it's sad when people don't speak up. When you know something is wrong, say something about it."
At his request, Hunter was moved out of the consumer-education class, which he will take with a new teacher next semester. He said 99 percent of the feedback he's received, both over the Internet and from his classmates, has been positive.
