Fresno Unified School District officials announced that Scandinavian Middle School vice principal Joe DiFilippo will be placed on paid administrative leave for allegedly making the racist comment, “I don’t like black kids.”
The remark was recorded on video by a student at the school. A representative for the school district, Jed Chernabaeff, said that the video was recorded on the student’s cell phone. Although he did not know when the video was recorded, it is clear that it took place outside of the school’s cafeteria in east-central Fresno.
Chernabaeff told the Fresno Bee that the video was brought to his attention on Friday and that the school district was investigating the incident. “Fresno Unified takes this matter very seriously and we will take any necessary actions pending the results,” Chernabeff said in a statement.
DiFilippo has been teaching since 2010 at the school, which has a 95% minority enrollment, most of whom are Hispanic. The Bee reported that 11% of school’s students are black.
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