SALEM, N.H. (WHDH) - School administrators in Salem, New Hampshire are investigating after a teacher posted a video on Facebook where she used a racist term for Black people.
The teacher is on leave. The comment was not directed at any one individual. Speaking on Wednesday, parents and students said they were shocked.
“It shouldn’t be tolerated whether it’s a student or a teacher,” said parent Gina Morin.
A school committee official said the seventh grade teacher, identified as Amy Banks, is on leave from her job. Banks has not taught a class all year and was not actively working as a teacher in Salem when she posted her video on Saturday.
“I’m just flabbergasted, honestly,” Morin said. “I have biracial family members and I take it personally, honestly.”
Asked if she thinks Banks should be fired, one Salem parent responded — “Absolutely.”
“[It’s] totally inappropriate,” the same teacher said.
Banks’ video, which was reviewed by 7NEWS, is rambling and hard to follow.
Officials did not address the issue at a school committee meeting Tuesday night and the Salem superintendent of schools did not respond to a request for comment.
Salem School Committee Chair Mike Carney said Banks’ comments are totally inappropriate.
“It’s a little shocking to use a word like that,” Carney said. “There’s no place for that in today’s society.”
“The Salem School District operates on core values and that does not go with our core values,” Carney continued. “But our core values also include empathy and compassion.”
Banks is technically still an employee of the Salem School District and is a union member. While administrators probe her conduct, though, her license to teach in New Hampshire may be at stake.
“She has rights as an employee and there’s an investigation going on,” Carney said. “Anything that comes out of this investigation will be passed on to the New Hampshire Department of Education.”
Parents picking up their middle school students said they want more transparency from school officials.
“The superintendent hasn’t even sent out anything to us parents about it,” Morin said.
Contacted by 7NEWS on Wednesday, Banks said she had no comment.
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