Reinstatement of slur-spewing teacher leaves Wisconsin community furious: report

A band teacher at a Wisconsin high school had a complaint of racist and homophobic behavior dismissed — and members of the community are not happy, reported the Wausau Daily Herald on Tuesday.

"Nearly 30 speakers, including a music director from The Second City in Chicago and a teacher representing 65 colleagues, told school board members Monday they stand with a Wausau East High School student and his family, whose complaint against a controversial band instructor was dismissed," the newspaper reported.

It followed the dismissal of the complaint against teacher Robert Perkins, despite the school finding that he made comments that were "racial and sexist in nature" that caused "unease" among students, the report said.

"Some specifically addressed (the teacher) Robert Perkins and the district's own determination that he used racial and homophobic language in school. Others used their three minutes of speaking time in the board room at Longfellow Administration Center to frame the situation as part of a long, frustrating record of racism and discrimination in the district."

The board went ahead and approved Perkins' contract for the next school year anyway, despite the long list of people who spoke against him. Human resources director Tabatha Gundrum said, "Statutorily, we cannot [exclude him] because there was no preliminary notice of non-renewal from a timing standpoint."

"Manee and Twan Vongphakdy, along with their son, filed an official complaint of harassment and discrimination with the district against Perkins on April 5," said the report. "The family is of Hmong and Lao descent; their son is a senior at the high school and openly gay. They said Perkins directed racial and homophobic slurs at the son, who has been so traumatized by the experience he has not been attending class."

According to the report, Superintendent Keith Hilts suspended Perkins and found his behavior caused "unease" among students — but dismissed the complaint anyway.

Stories of racial and discriminatory abuse from teachers have made headlines around the country. In March, a Tampa, Florida high school teacher with "years" of complaints against him triggered outrage after calling a biracial student a "mutt." And earlier this month, a middle school teacher in Richmond, Virginia was suspended after telling a student to "Go back to wherever that Spanish-speaking country is and speak it."