A petition is circulating on the Internet in which a Florida High school teacher who is set to be fired, among other things, allegedly called a mixed-race student a “mutter”, greeted a German exchange student with a Nazi salute and made students pay him to improve their grades.
Todd Harvey – a Wharton High School in Tampa who has faced numerous complaints over the past 25 years – has been labeled a racist, homophobic and misogynist “serial abuser,” according to the report Change.org Petition which currently has 523 signatures.
This is Todd Harvey, everyone. https://t.co/jt04fYDkaz pic.twitter.com/7roboPYqQ2
— Karly (@KarlyRican_) March 13, 2023
Florida teacher described as homophobic, racist, misogynist” in petition to have him fired
“Todd Harvey is a serial offender with more than 20 documented offenses against minors in the classroom,” the petition reads. “He’s a homophobic, racist, misogynist who shouldn’t be a teacher at all.”
It goes on to say: “His immediate termination is demanded on behalf of parents and students.”
The petition also calls for a “thorough investigation” by both law enforcement and school officials after Harvey’s grievance story first surfaced in an exposé from the Tampa Bay Times.
The news agency had obtained school district records revealing at least 23 alleged complaints of misconduct since he began teaching at the school in 1997.
The teacher has had at least 23 complaints of misconduct since he began working at the school in 1997
Harvey was once suspended for five days without pay for reportedly making racially “slurring” comments, and also got into trouble after having students pay him to improve their grades, according to the Times.
“I understand it’s not uncommon for this man to make students cry,” one parent complained in 1999.
He was threatened with dismissal on at least two occasions, but in the end the officials allowed him to continue teaching. One student called his classes “barbaric,” reports the Times.
The alleged complaints include sexually inappropriate remarks. Harvey reportedly called one girl “slutty” and told another he would marry her after she turned 21.
Harvey admitted the “nasty” comment was a joke he now regrets.
RELATED: A Minnesota teacher has been furloughed after a viral video showed her calling the N-word to her middle school students
He also told students that gay couples should not be allowed to marry in a church and that women should stay at home and not at work, the Times report said.
Tampa teacher Todd Harvey has been accused of mocking female, black, latino and queer students in his classroom for over 20 years
Harvey is accused of calling a mixed race girl a “mutter” and giving a Nazi salute to a German studenthttps://t.co/PISffdjoE8— Amanda Vos (@AmandaVos7) March 14, 2023
Harvey reportedly singled out some girls with “thunder thighs” and told them not to wear shorts.
The list of complaints includes mocking Latino students, giving Nazi salutes and allowing students to cheat on tests
The list of complaints goes on: he reportedly taunted Latino students for being “hairy and eats rice and beans” and called a German exchange student “Germany” rather than by his real name.
Another German exchange student filed a complaint against Harvey for giving a Nazi salute in class. Harvey defended the act as part of a Holocaust lesson.
And a principal once admitted that “everyone” knew Harvey had a pitcher on the school’s baseball team to intentionally throw a ball at an opposing player’s head, which Harvey denied.
He was last fined in February 2017 for “unprofessional conduct” for allowing students to cheat on a test, with officials forcing their scores to be invalidated, according to the outlet.
Death Harvey…. Shouldn’t have taught for so long!!!!
The Florida teacher reportedly called a mixed-race student a “mutter,” using the Nazi salute https://t.co/c8BQq9ZFGN above @nypost
— Team Sanvers (@TeamSanvers) March 15, 2023
Biracial student says teacher called her a ‘mutter’, allegedly a bullied trans student who committed suicide
In the meantime, not all complaints have been officially filed, like that of Melanie Copeland, who told the Tampa Bay Times that Harvey once asked how she described her race on government forms because she was multiracial, claiming that she should “mutt.”
Copeland was so upset that her mother eventually removed her from the school district altogether.
Perhaps the worst allegation against Harvey is that he bullied a transgender student who eventually committed suicide. Authorities claim the student was upset over a debate with Harvey earlier that day.
Harvey allegedly tormented the student, an unnamed friend told the outlet, telling the student he looked like a school gunman and a “psychopath.”
Those interested in signing the petition for Harvey’s sacking can do so Here.
