Palm Beach County teacher suspended after using n-word in front of students. What happened?

A teacher has been suspended from her job at Wellington Landings Middle school after a cellphone video showed her using the f-word and the n-word in front of seventh-grade students in February.

Alexandra Munley, a physical education teacher, will be suspended without pay for 10 days beginning Sept. 8 if she does not appeal.

School district investigators found that Munley, who is white, used the racial slur when she was addressing students who told her another student used an inappropriate word in class.

The video shows students alerting Munley on Feb. 2 that a female student in her class had just called another student a "p----," a derogatory term for female genitalia.

In response to their concerns, Munley said, "You don't have a problem saying f------ n-----, but you have a problem with saying 'p----.'" The student who started the incident was standing nearby.

Munley told investigators that she thought it was "upsetting and disgusting" that students in her class didn't respond when the student used the f-word and n-word, but responded when she used the word "p----."

It is unclear from the report whether the student Munley was talking about was Black.

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The district interviewed nine students who witnessed the exchange, according to investigative documents. Some reported that she was yelling at the students; others said she "called" the student the n-word. One student said that the student Munley was speaking to used the n-word in class "a lot."

They also told investigators that Munley had previously yelled at them and thrown things like paper and keys in class. She was not disciplined for any of these incidents, her personnel records show.

"A common theme that was noted from the students was that Ms. Munley is seen as a 'mean' teacher who can become upset easily," the investigative report said.

Munley, through her attorney, told district investigators that she had ongoing problems with students using inappropriate language in class, and that when she used the f-word and the n-word in front of students, she was repeating what the female student had said back to her. She called this a "different approach" to correcting student behavior.

After the student said "p----" in class on Feb. 2, "several students started jumping around and asking me if I had heard what she said. They wanted her to get in trouble for using the p-word but showed no care about the (f-word and n-word) phrase," she told investigators.

On Wednesday, Superintendent Mike Burke recommended suspension based on Munley's ethical misconduct for using a discriminatory or racial term in the presence of students. The school board approved the suspension.

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At the same meeting, dozens of Black community activists and leaders packed the room to criticize the state board of education's new standards that they say attempt to reframe chattel slavery as potentially beneficial to enslaved people.

At least one speaker said they were outraged to be advocating for Black students' abilities to learn their history at the same meeting where the board was dealing with a teacher who used a racial slur in front of students.

"I have to say I was disappointed to know that an educator can stand in a classroom with children and use the n-word and only receive a 10-day suspension by almost a unanimous (vote)," said Andrea Stewart Bruton, with the South Palm Beach County chapter of the NAACP.

The sole vote against Munley's suspension came from school board member Edwin Ferguson.

"I don't think a 10-day suspension is an adequate and reasonable sanction for someone who has uttered the n-word at school in front of students," he said. "The word should be rooted out."

Ferguson also compared Munley's case to that of Michael Williams, a principal at Lake Worth Middle School who was removed from his principalship and reassigned in June. He had gotten into a confrontation with a woman in the school's parking lot after school hours, said the n-word and called her a "Hispanic b----."

Williams addressed the school board and told them the woman had called him the n-word after a minor traffic collision, causing him to become upset with her.

"We stated that because he said it outside of the purview of children and it was after hours, a 10-day suspension is reasonable," Ferguson said of Williams' case. "But in this particular case looking at the video, this person used the word, clearly in the presence of students. And I have real trouble with just the 10-day suspension."

What's next for the suspended Palm Beach County teacher?

Munley has been employed by the school district since December 2014 — she has worked a substitute teacher and a physical education teacher at South Olive Elementary, Palm Springs Elementary and now Wellington Landings Middle.

Her annual evaluations show she's been rated "effective" and "highly effective" by her principals.

Munley has until Sept. 7 to appeal the superintendent's decision.

If she does not, her suspension begins Sept. 8, and she will return to work on Sept. 22.

Munley did not return two telephone calls and an email seeking comment on her suspension.

Katherine Kokal is a journalist covering education at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at kkokal@pbpost.com. Help support our work. Subscribe today!

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Wellington Landings teacher suspended for using n-word with students