John Freshwater. I don't know how many people remember this loon, so here's some background courtesy of the NCSE:
A complaint filed in federal court on June 13, 2008, accuses John Freshwater, a Mount Vernon, Ohio, teacher, of inappropriately bringing his religion into the school -- including by posting posters with the Ten Commandments and Bible verses in his classroom, branding crosses into the arms of his students with a high-voltage electrical device, and teaching creationism. The complaint also alleges that the principal of the school, the superintendent of the school district, and the board of education allowed Freshwater to continue teaching and failed to discipline him, even after the branding incident (which occurred in December 2007) was brought to their attention. The attorney representing the complainants (who are identified only as "John Doe and Jane Doe") told the Columbus Dispatch (June 20, 2008), "These concerns had been going on for at least 11 years, and the school had not done anything."
(More over the fold.)
The school board recently just approved a settlement with the student, awarding $121,000 dollars (though the majority of it went to the lawyers). There is still a lawsuit pending against the teacher though, so we'll see how that plays out.
Still, this part gets me:
Freshwater has filed his own $1 million lawsuit against the district, claiming it violated his free speech and civil rights.
Another stupid fucking nutjob that likes to assert First Amendment rights while denying the Establishment Clause exists. He really doesn't get the fact that we can't use state-funded tax dollars to support his proselytizing, which unfortunately has had a deleterious effect on the education of those in his class (of course):
A Mount Vernon High School teacher said she had to reteach science to freshmen after they received improper instruction from eighth-grade teacher John Freshwater.
"If they had been taught evolution in a scientific manner, they would not have agreed that evolution is controversial," Bonnie Schutte said.
Surveys that Schutte gave her students at the beginning of each school year included observations about their eighth-grade science classes, including: "It's all opinion. It's not proven fact," "It's a very open subject" and "we can't say what happened in the past because we weren't there."
Apparently, his rhetoric also targeted other Christians, specifically Catholics:
Souhrada also recalled overhearing Freshwater tell a group of students, "Catholics aren't Christians."
Asked why that phrase stuck with him four years later, Souhrada replied, "because I'm Catholic."
Maybe I'm feeling vindictive, but I honestly thought the settlement with the school board should have awarded more, namely because they took so long to fire someone like Freshwater.
Jesus...