Superintendent to meet with Hoover High students, parents about racial slur

Hoover schools Superintendent Kathy Murphy said today, Jan. 23, that she will continue her inquiry into a Hoover High teacher using a racial slur in her classroom this past Friday.

Murphy today met with Hoover High Principal Don Hulin and the teacher, identified by students as food and nutrition teacher Teddi Butcher, to give her a chance to share her side of the story.

Students reported that Butcher told them to “turn the n----- music off” when she returned to her classroom Friday and found them listening to hip-hop music.

“She used the n-word. She does not deny she used the n-word,” Murphy said.

There are some discrepancies about the circumstances leading up to her use of the word, Murphy said. The teacher claimed the n-word was used in the music that was playing, and some students have claimed that was not the case, Murphy said.

But Murphy said that, to her, that’s a fairly inconsequential dispute. “It’s about what she chose to say,” the superintendent said. The language the teacher used was offensive and inappropriate, Murphy said.

Butcher reportedly apologized to the students involved, but some parents say that’s not enough. Some parents say Butcher should be fired to send a clear message about what is not acceptable at Hoover High and to keep students from having to face her in class again.

Murphy said she plans on Wednesday to meet with the six students who were in the teacher’s class when the slur was used, as well as with their parents, to give them an opportunity to be heard as well.

“Hopefully, we’ll be in a better position at that point to make a call,” Murphy said.

In the meantime, Butcher remains on administrative leave with pay, which Murphy said is protocol during the course of an investigation like this.

Efforts to reach Butcher for comment have been unsuccessful.