A North Carolina school fired a substitute teacher who told a student to “go back to where you speak Spanish.”
South Mecklenburg High School will no longer use Gary Atta as a substitute teacher after the publication of video footage showing Atta making the statement, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.
“Go back where you speak Spanish, if you don’t want to speak English,” said Atta to the student, who replies by calling the teacher “f***ing racist.”
“I’m racist, right?” replied Atta sarcastically, to which the student responded “Yes, you are.”
“When you’re in my classroom, if you can speak English, you speak English,” continued Atta.
WATCH:
“At South [Mecklenburg High School], we seek to create a safe and respectful environment for students and staff and promote respectful interaction for all,” said Maureen Furr, the school’s principal, in a text message sent to parents. “We take accusations of bias seriously, and this individual will no longer be working at our school.”
Thirty-six percent of the school’s students are white, 31 percent are Hispanic, and 26 percent are black, according to a report from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School district.
The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to Atta and the school for comment, but received none in time for press.
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