Wisconsin high school’s ‘equity coordinator’ resigns over use of racial slur

A Wisconsin highschool’s affiliate principal and district fairness coordinator resigned final week after utilizing a racial slur in entrance of scholars.

“Whereas addressing a priority {that a} pupil had stated the ‘n phrase’ [sic] to a different pupil, I requested a clarifying query during which I said the complete phrase,” Anne Nichols, the previous fairness coordinator at McFarland Excessive Faculty in Madison, wrote in her resignation letter, which was obtained by Empower Wisconsin. “Whereas I instantly acknowledged my mistake and apologized, I acknowledge the impression that listening to this phrase can have.”

The McFarland District Faculty Board held a gathering final week to just accept Nichols’ resignation, thought the incident passed off on Sept. 13.

McFarland Trustee Edward Wreh stated the district’s college students deserved to really feel secure after they attend college.

“How will we repair this?” Wreh instructed WMTV. “How will we assist these youngsters achieve success? I’ve stated this earlier than, and I’ll say this once more: These youngsters are our future. They’re the following leaders of this world, and we owe it to ourselves, and we owe it to them to verify they really feel secure and really feel revered, and they’re given one of the best probability to achieve success.”

McFarland Principal Jeff Finstad and Affiliate Principal Sarah Busalacchi wrote an e-mail to folks addressing the incident, making clear the district doesn’t tolerate the usage of racial slurs.

“We additionally wish to reiterate that the employees at McFarland Excessive Faculty and the District doesn’t tolerate the usage of racial epithets or slurs or any kind of harassment based mostly on race,” the e-mail, which was additionally obtained by Empower Wisconsin, reads. “These are phrases that shouldn’t be spoken at MHS by anybody at any time whereas attending MHS.”

Nichols, who stated in her resignation letter than she had been in training for 33 years and had not used a racial slur in her earlier three a long time on the job, ran the McFarland district’s fairness program. The college’s web site has a web page dedicated to this system, together with a hyperlink to “anti-racism” sources, which it states is geared toward “countering racism in our group.”

“For many people, an essential step in starting these conversations is recognizing that systemic racism is completely completely different from brazenly hostile bigotry,” the web page reads. “One other essential concept to contemplate is that systematic racism hurts all of us, not simply the people who find themselves marginalized by these programs.”

McFarland Superintendent Aaron Tarnutzer stated the district will now flip its focus to discovering a everlasting alternative for Nichols, hiring an interim affiliate principal for the rest of the college 12 months with the hopes of constructing a everlasting rent within the spring.

The McFarland Faculty district didn’t instantly reply to a Fox Information request for remark.