Gay
superintendent suspended over spoof video

A gay Chicago-area high school superintendent has been suspended with pay for making a spoof video of mock teacher interviews, the Daily Southtown reports. Bremen High School District superintendent Richard Mitchell was suspended on Tuesday night pending a dismissal hearing.

Mitchell is accused of hazing first-year teachers by creating the video without their knowledge and damaging the district's reputation by posting it on the district Web site, the paper reported. Mitchell has feuded with the board majority for several months regarding mentoring programs, personnel decisions, and his contract. He plans to sue for bias over sexual orientation.

The controversial video spliced real answers with fake questions and made first-year teachers appear to be strippers, drug abusers, and murderers. It was aired during an opening-day institute for 500 faculty and staff members and posted online for a week. It has been removed from the Web site. (The Advocate)