Gay school official alleges bias in firing - Bremen district board takes 8 hours to decide

The superintendent of Midlothian-based Bremen High School District 228, suspended in part for an edgy video he created lampooning new teachers, was fired by the school board early Thursday after nearly eight hours of deliberation.

Richard Mitchell, head of the district for two years, alleged that the board wanted him out because he is gay. His attorney, Jim Madigan, said he soon would file a discrimination complaint with the Cook County Commission on Human Rights.

"There are some people who continue to believe a gay person is not an appropriate person to have ... as a role model for students," Madigan said. "That's why they tried to get rid of him. It's a real shame for the students at the district."

But Ray Hauser, an attorney representing the district, said Mitchell was fired--in a 4-2 vote--for his poor leadership, not his sexual preference. He called the discrimination charge "ridiculous."

"There are going to be people who say he was dismissed because he was gay no matter what we do," Hauser said. "It's unfortunate that they chose to try it in the newspapers."

Mitchell said school board President Evelyn Gleason made note of his sexual preference at the time he was hired, but Hauser and Gleason denied that.

Mitchell contends the board continually undermined his leadership, going so far as to undo some of his programs, including student mentoring.

He said the push to fire him gained momentum after he and his lawyer alerted the district to his claim of discrimination in late September.

He was suspended with pay in October.

Board member Verla Clevenger, a Mitchell supporter, said she would have preferred that the board let him do his job.

"I would love to see the board leave him alone and let him come back," she said. "The children loved him."

About a dozen teachers filing in and out during the meeting--which ended at nearly 3 a.m.--also expressed support, some offering testimony on Mitchell's behalf in the closed-door session.

His supporters said the video was an unfortunate incident that showed poor judgment but wasn't a fireable offense. School officials said the video played a role in his dismissal but wasn't the crux of the case.

Gleason said the district had 12 charges against Mitchell, many concerning poor communication with the board and lack of cooperation with district administrators.

As for critics now asking for Gleason's resignation, she said she spent years on the board in the minority before a recent change. "It's not easy to be on the short end of the vote," she said.

In the video, shown at a teacher orientation meeting, Mitchell asked teachers a series of questions and then spliced in absurd queries to portray them as killers or drug addicts.

His supporters said the teachers loved the video and asked him to make it available to them on the Internet. Madigan said Mitchell asked a staff member to create a link on the district's Web site that would have made the video available to faculty only, not to the public. But her lack of technical savvy resulted in the video being available to all, even students.

Michael Shehan, a new Spanish teacher at the district who was one of many interviewed for the video, said he knew in advance that his answers might be used for comedic purposes, having heard that rumor from other employees.

Shehan, made to look as though his nickname was "Predator," said he wasn't offended by the video because he knew it was so outlandish no one would believe it. He thought it was funny and looked forward to seeing it.

"I didn't see a person who wasn't laughing when they saw it," he said. "It was funny in that context. It was not a video for parents or for kids. It was adult humor for adults."

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