School board votes against teacher who read book with racial slur

A teacher at West Valley High School in Spokane Valley, Wash., lost his job Wednesday for reading aloud a racial slur in the classic book To Kill A Mockingbird. The West Valley School Board voted unanimously not to renew Matthew Mastronardi’s contract for the next year, according to local news outlet KREM-2. Mastronardi read a section of the book containing the offensive word in response to a student’s question which seemed necessary to address, he said, according to local news.

The board voted against Mastronardi over the objections of many students and parents. Dozens testified in support of the teacher at the board meeting, including the student who asked the question. One parent said her son and his classmates started a petition to restoreMastronardi’s job that garnered over 2,600 signatures, according to local news. But other parents said Mastronardi didn’t need to read the passage in a Spanish class and failed to consider the discomfort some students would experience, local NBC affiliate KHQ reported.

What did the school board say about its decision? One member, Adam Mortensen, said Mastronardi showed insubordinate behavior because he told the board he would make the same decision again. Pam McLeod, also on the board, said the teacher failed to follow district guidelines about the proper context for teaching the book, local news reported. The board previously received several complaints about off-topic discussions in Mastronardi’s class, a third board member told the NBC affiliate.

How did Mastronardi react to the vote? He said Wednesday that he would miss his students. He wanted Christ to be glorified, he said, and felt that he was just getting started.