Teacher Who Made “Black Fag” Comment Issued a Warning

(Oct. 14) Illinois teacher David Burk was issued a warning by the Geneva School Board Tuesday night for asking his class if they believed “some black fag” should get government assistance to attend college.

Geneva High School senior, Jordan Hunter, the openly gay student who filed the complaint against Burk, felt the board’s reprimand did not go far enough.

"I'm just disappointed," Hunter said. "I'm shocked, really. This is not an acceptable end result."

Hunter said during a lesson on tax dollars on Oct. 5th, consumer education teacher Burk was discussing the National Endowment for the Arts when he posed a question to his students, implying that black, queer students should not get government funding:

“How would you feel about your tax dollars going to pay some black fag in New York to take pictures of other black fags?”

School board Vice President Tim Moran said the warning notice stipulates that any further offense could result in dismissal.

"The reality is that there are legal steps that have to be taken," Moran said. "The step we took we believe to be the harshest we can as it stands now."

While the School District's bylaws prohibit harassment based on sex, race, religion, national origin and disability, specifically banning slurs for race, religion and national origin, there is no rule specifically banning teachers from using slurs based on gender identity or sexual orientation.

Burk did not attend Tuesday's meeting. But his attorney, D.J. Tegeler, said that Burk regrets making any comment that would offend a student and would personally apologize to Hunter if given the opportunity.

"His intention was to teach," Tegeler said. "It was not to degrade anyone. He will work in the future to make sure it never happens again."