Pflugerville ISD said a teacher who expressed white supremacist views to his students no longer works for the school district as of Monday. He taught at Bohls Middle School and was previously put on administrative leave while the district’s human resources department investigated.
“The teacher in question is no longer employed by Pflugerville ISD and we are actively looking for a replacement,” PfISD Superintendent Douglas Killian said in a statement.
PfISD did not name the teacher, who appeared in a video that was shared with district officials as well as on social media. The teacher, who is a white man, tells his diverse classroom that “deep down in my heart I’m ethnocentric, which means I think my race is the superior one.”
The students pushed back on his statement asking the teacher if he is racist.
“I think everybody's a racist at that level,” he replied.
Two of the students told the teacher that while they used to respect him, they no longer do.
“You know, you should have more respect because I’m honest,” the unnamed teacher said.
The statement from Superintendent Killian said the teacher’s conversation does not align with the district’s core values or culture, adding it was “inappropriate, inaccurate, and unacceptable.”
Killian also praised the students for challenging the teacher’s racist views. “We always do our best to ensure the safety of all students; we encourage them to be self-advocates and let an adult know when something is wrong, as they did in this situation,” he said.
The district said counselors and administrators are available for students or families who want to talk about what happened.
PfISD said it is one of the most diverse school districts in Central Texas. According to data from 2020-2021, 15.5% of students are African American, 48.3% are Hispanic, 22.8% are white, 8.5% are Asian or Pacific Islander, and 4.8% identify as multiracial.
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