Kat
05-10-2007, 08:33 AM
Glad to see that words isnt "cool" or respectable like it has been said on here in the past ;)
Driver who muttered 'n-word' awarded jobless pay
The Des Moines bus operator swore under her breath after a student was verbally abusive.
By CLARK KAUFFMAN
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
A black bus driver who was fired by the Des Moines school district because she used the "n-word" in front of a black student who had threatened her deserves unemployment pay, a judge has ruled.
School officials have appealed the decision and say the Feb. 14 remark constituted job misconduct.
Anita Anderson, 48, of Des Moines was fired two days after the incident on her bus. According to state records, Anderson was driving students from Monroe Elementary School when a boy became disruptive and belligerent.
Anderson testified at a state hearing on her request for unemployment benefits: "I kept asking him to sit down. And he kept on and on. He said he was going to bust me in my face."
After she told the boy he should not speak to her that way, Anderson muttered under her breath, she said.
"I was talking to myself," she testified. "I was driving, and I said the word. You know, the 'n-word.' But I wasn't talking to the student; I was just talking to myself."
Anderson testified that a girl behind her overheard the remark and told others on the bus. That prompted another outburst from the boy who had threatened her.
"That little boy kept saying, 'Oh, when we get to the bus stop my mom and dad is going to beat you down. Oh, we're going to bust you in your face,' " Anderson testified.
When she finished her route and returned to the bus garage, she was told that the student's mother had complained that the epithet was directed at her son.
District officials fired Anderson and challenged her claim for unemployment pay.
An administrative law judge, Debra Wise, concluded that while Anderson showed poor judgment, she had not committed misconduct. Therefore, Anderson was entitled to collect unemployment pay.
The district has appealed the ruling.
Catherine McKay, the district's risk manager, recently requested a new hearing. She argued that Anderson's "behavior was directed toward a student" and that it constituted job-related misconduct.
Anderson said at the initial hearing that she regretted the remark.
"I just couldn't even explain to you how sorrowful I am that the word came out of my mouth," she said. "I'm a Christian. ... I'm also an African American. I know how whites or Caucasians or different people perceive that word."
Anderson said that although she didn't direct her comment at the child, she would apologize to his parents.
"If I could, I'd do it all over again," she said. "I love my job. I've been there seven years, never had a write-up, never missed a day."
Reporter Clark Kauffman can be reached at (515) 284-8233 or ckauffman@dmreg.com
Driver who muttered 'n-word' awarded jobless pay
The Des Moines bus operator swore under her breath after a student was verbally abusive.
By CLARK KAUFFMAN
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
A black bus driver who was fired by the Des Moines school district because she used the "n-word" in front of a black student who had threatened her deserves unemployment pay, a judge has ruled.
School officials have appealed the decision and say the Feb. 14 remark constituted job misconduct.
Anita Anderson, 48, of Des Moines was fired two days after the incident on her bus. According to state records, Anderson was driving students from Monroe Elementary School when a boy became disruptive and belligerent.
Anderson testified at a state hearing on her request for unemployment benefits: "I kept asking him to sit down. And he kept on and on. He said he was going to bust me in my face."
After she told the boy he should not speak to her that way, Anderson muttered under her breath, she said.
"I was talking to myself," she testified. "I was driving, and I said the word. You know, the 'n-word.' But I wasn't talking to the student; I was just talking to myself."
Anderson testified that a girl behind her overheard the remark and told others on the bus. That prompted another outburst from the boy who had threatened her.
"That little boy kept saying, 'Oh, when we get to the bus stop my mom and dad is going to beat you down. Oh, we're going to bust you in your face,' " Anderson testified.
When she finished her route and returned to the bus garage, she was told that the student's mother had complained that the epithet was directed at her son.
District officials fired Anderson and challenged her claim for unemployment pay.
An administrative law judge, Debra Wise, concluded that while Anderson showed poor judgment, she had not committed misconduct. Therefore, Anderson was entitled to collect unemployment pay.
The district has appealed the ruling.
Catherine McKay, the district's risk manager, recently requested a new hearing. She argued that Anderson's "behavior was directed toward a student" and that it constituted job-related misconduct.
Anderson said at the initial hearing that she regretted the remark.
"I just couldn't even explain to you how sorrowful I am that the word came out of my mouth," she said. "I'm a Christian. ... I'm also an African American. I know how whites or Caucasians or different people perceive that word."
Anderson said that although she didn't direct her comment at the child, she would apologize to his parents.
"If I could, I'd do it all over again," she said. "I love my job. I've been there seven years, never had a write-up, never missed a day."
Reporter Clark Kauffman can be reached at (515) 284-8233 or ckauffman@dmreg.com