Update: One of the administrators who allegedly sent racially insensitive iMessages has resigned, according to an announcement by the Shorewood School Board on Tuesday night.
Original story:
The Director of Instructional Technology at Shorewood Schools is accusing the school district of discrimination following his discovery of racially insensitive texts between administrators.
Mickey Chavannes claims his staff discovered texts that included racist language on district devices used by four Black administrators. The texts included the terms ‘cracker,’ ‘cracka,’ ‘white devil,’ ‘white ladies,’ and ‘minority jewish’ while referring to white staff members, according to Chavannes’ attorney Nathaniel Cade.
“The superintendent told him to keep quiet while she investigated,” Cade told WTMJ. “The investigation was a sham.”
Instead, Dr. JoAnn Sternke recommended Chavannes be terminated on May 3rd because of a pattern of insubordinate behavior during the investigation, according to the superintendent’s letter to School Board president Paru Shah.
WTMJ reached out to Dr. Sternke & the Shorewood School District and received this response: “Per policy, the District does not comment on confidential personnel issues or pending litigation.”
“Her decision was based on Chavannes communicating with staff members when she asked him to keep quiet,” Cade explained. Chavannes spoke with his internal IT team about the matter but no one else, according to Cade.
“This (termination) is retaliation,” he added. “What if four white administrators used similar language referring to black employees? Is there any doubt they’d be terminated? As soon as we are legally able to do so, we will file a suit in federal court.”
