Racist Florida Teacher Tells Students Dating Black Boys Is 'Not Worth It'

A Florida middle school teacher was suspended but will keep his job after an investigation found he used a racial slur in front of his students in class more than once last year and told them not to date black boys as they were “not worth it.”

David Swinyar, 48, a math teacher at Kernan Middle School in Duval County, Jacksonville, Florida, was accused by students of belittling them, confronting them in a “physically aggressive manner” and yelling at them, according to an investigation conducted by the Duval County School District.

He was suspended without pay for 10 days after the investigation concluded he dropped the “n-word” in class and told students “you should not be dating all these different African American boys because they are not worth it.”

In October 2017, while teaching his math class, Swinyar had a conversation with students about the word “f---” after he had overheard it in his classroom.

“If my daughter was dating someone who used the ‘f’ word, I wouldn’t have any respect for that n-----,” Swinyar said, according to the investigation report. In the same conversation about dating, Swinyar allegedly used the racial slur again.

“If your boyfriend says bad things to you and/or treats you wrong, that means that he’s acting like a n-----,” he said, per the report. “You all should not be dating all these different African Americans [sic] boys because they are not worth it.”

Over a dozen students in his class acted as witnesses for the investigation report, and most of them agreed they clearly heard their teacher say the racial slur. Students said they were surprised, with one saying he wanted to “go on a rampage” after hearing the word.

“I never said that, but if I did, I am sorry,” he allegedly told his students.

Students claimed Swinyar further defended himself by adding he attends a black church; however, moments after that he laughed and began mocking black preachers.

“He loves to talk about politics and Donald Trump,” one student told an investigator.

Students also alleged Swinyar regularly berated them, yelled at them and called them “idiots.”

“You are only enrolled in my class because you performed poorly on the standardized testing (FSA),” he allegedly told his class during one instance.

After Swinyar made racial remarks in his class last October, one of his students went to the school’s office to call his mother and explain what happened. After an investigation into the incident, the office said it found “credible evidence” to support the student’s claims.

On Tuesday night, the Duval County School Board supported Swinyar’s 10-day unpaid suspension. However, he will return to his position at the school after his days of suspension are complete.

Swinyar’s suspension came less than a week after another Florida teacher was terminated after a Huffington Post investigation found she had a white nationalist podcast. Dayanna Volitich, a 25-year-old social studies teacher at Crystal River Middle School in Florida, was removed from her position March 2 after the school's administration was made aware of the podcast.