South suburban Chicago school administrator draws outrage over offensive joke
LANSING, Ill. (CBS) -- A school administrator in the southern suburbs is accused of blasting out a racist and offensive joke to her colleagues.
While most people would go to human resources while they have problems with someone in the workplace, in this case it was the HR director at Lansing School District 158 who caused the alleged problem. On Monday night, staff and the community came out to voice outrage over the joke—which some found downright offensive.
As quickly as District 158 school board members took their seats, they rapidly went into a closed session to discuss the future of human resources director Tanya Carter.
After a four-hour closed-door session, District 158 Board voted to terminate Carter's contract. But she will remain with the school district—a decision that is not sitting well with employees and parents.
"I was shocked someone from a leadership position would think that would be funny, and push send on an email—and didn't think twice about it?" said Jeanette Torres, who works for the district.
The email in question begins, "What do you call a sick bald eagle?" The punchline references "illegal immigrants."
"Illegal has always been a term that has been tied to Hispanics," Torres said. "Right away, you think of, like, someone thinks of illegal, and it's Hispanics. There's many 'illegals.'"
The joke was the reason Torres and so many stood in a hallway for hours Monday, waiting to voice their frustration at a district board meeting.
"I found it very insensitive," said community member Reyna Senisais, "especially to those of us that are immigrants."
CBS News Chicago is told several employees filed grievances. Once word got back to Carter, she sent an email only to those who complained—calling her joke a "dad joke."
"Please accept my sincerest apologies for my thoughtless actions and hurt they may have inflicted," Carter wrote.
"It's not a joke," said Torres, "and I just feel like lot of people are trying to say that we are overreacting, so they're justifying her actions. Why are they not justifying our feelings?"
The apology continued on saying: "I did not recognize the deeper meaning…or how it make others feels…. I take full responsibility for my actions and I understand the consequences they have had on your trust in me."
"It's not a matter of an apology," said Senisais. "It's a matter what the individual's makeup is. What is their DNA?"
CBS News Chicago spotted Carter sitting with an attorney through the window of the closed session. Yet many were ready to speak publicly.
"We were under the impression we were going to go in as whole and speak up," Torres said, "and now they're taking us individually one by one, and I just feel like that is intimidation."
Calling people into the closed session individually appears to violate the spirit of the open meetings statute—because whatever is said behind closed doors will not be on record and will not be made public.
Lansing School District 158 released this statement:
"Lansing School District 158 continuously strives to provide a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment within which our students can learn and our staff members can work. We value the contributions and diversity of our team that help to support the District's mission of educating Lansing's children in a caring place. On October 4, 2024, the Executive Director of Human Resources sent an email to staff that failed to align with the District's mission, goals, and expectations. A prompt and thorough investigation of this incident and its impact on the school environment took place. Throughout this process, the District respectfully allowed individuals who were negatively impacted by the email to have their thoughts and feelings heard while also considering the position of the Executive Director.
"After carefully reflecting on the conduct at issue, its impact on the environment of the District, and hearing directly from staff members and the Executive Director of Human Resources, the Board of Education determined that she could no longer effectively continue to serve in her administrative role. As a result, the Board voted unanimously to immediately terminate her contract as Executive Director of Human Resources. In accordance with her tenure rights under the Illinois School Code, the Executive Director was transferred to a teaching position for which she holds the proper credentials. Her compensation and benefits in this role have been adjusted to align with the collective bargaining agreement between the Board of Education and the Lansing Education Association."
