Substitute teacher Walt Tutka has filed a formal complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on grounds of religious discrimination, after he was fired for giving a student a Bible.
Tutka claims said he was working as a substitute in the Phillipsburg School District Oct. 12, Yahoo reported.
While the children were standing in line, Tutka said to the final student in the queue, "The first shall be the last, and the last shall be the first."
This was in reference to a verse in the canonical gospels.
The report then says that the student inquired numerous times about reasoning behind Tutka's quip. Tutka informed the child that it was from the Bible, then asked if he was in possession of a bible.
When the kid said no, Tutka produced a pocket-sized Bible that was on his person, and gave it to the child.
Six days later, Superintendent George Chando told Tutka he was being let go over the Bible incident.
"I believe that I have been discriminated against in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination and retaliated against regarding same," Tutka's complaint said, according to this article by The Express-Times.
This begs the question: is it wrong to inadvertently promote religion in a public institution, even if by pomp and circumstance?
Readers of The Express-Times article have responded in great waves, sparking debate in chat forums.
"Tutka in no way, shape or form 'pontificated' his religious beliefs to anyone," Tom Lapella of Easton wrote to the publication. "After five or six requests from the student over a period of time, Tutka finally read the verse of scripture to the student outside of the classroom and at the last moment offered the student the small pocket Bible...there was no soap box platform to announce religious matters, just a tiny singular pocket Bible."
Kenn Rapp, however, disagrees with the substitute's move.
"He could have told the student to ask his minister or ask his parents about the quote, but instead chose to willingly and knowingly violate his employment contract by handing the student a Bible," he said.
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