According to an English teacher’s personnel file, obtained by KCE, he used the “N” word in class and told a student “Fuck you.” Paul Mommaerts admitted to the actions, was suspended for 10 business days, and was demoted, costing him $10,000 annually. Mommaerts filed a grievance with the union, but lost.
According to the Mommaert’s personnel file:
Mommaerts admitted to his principal that he used a racial slur during his third period English Perspectives class. He told Mr. Knecht that he used the “N” word in his class because he was referencing a character in a book in which his class was reading. In that book, there was an example of a character who had changed from bad to good. Mommaerts, a democrat, had asked the class to think of a person in today’s time that might be comparable and Kanye West was brought up in discussion by one of your students who had done an assignment on Mr. West’s perceived change.
There were six signed statements which attest to the fact that Mommaerts either said the “N” word in his third period English perspective class or that he admitted to saying the “N” word in his third period English Perspectives class. Mommaerts acknowledged that he was familiar with the schools anti-harassment policy. Several years ago Mommaerts was presented with a performance discussion worksheet regarding his behavior in one of his classes. Mommaerts admitted to telling a student “fuck you. “
Mommaerts was found to violated the KUSD anti-harassment policy, employee conduct policy, and code of ethics policy.
Mommaerts admitted that using the “N” word was vulgar and disgusting. He admitted to using the word twice in class he stated that he was in the heat of the moment, engaged with students and in ” teacher mode.” He did state that he made a critical error, and that teaching children is a privilege not a right.
“As a teacher with the Kenosha Unified School District, you were expected to interact respectfully and professionally with students at all times. As an After School Instructional Coach, you are expected to exhibit exemplary behaviors which afford you that position. And accordance with the discipline practice outlined in KUSD handbook Section 7, you are being given a 10-business day suspension for your actions. You will be moved from paid administrative leave to unpaid leave effective [today.] In addition, you will no longer be awarded the position of after school instructional coach effective immediately. All future monies that would have been awarded to you for that position will cease effective [today,]” said the letter from HR. “If your behavior is not corrected, further disciplinary action up to an including recommendation to the Board of education for contract non-renewal and/or termination of your employment may result. “
Mommaerts wrote in his grievance in all caps, saying ” I WAS WRONG. Still, I believe that my track record shows that I am someone, still, worthy of leadership. A $10,000 repercussion is not warranted with these events.”
About 3 weeks later the grievance was dismissed and the demotion and suspension were upheld by the school’s HR department. Mommaerts’ wife is also a teacher at KUSD.
43 Responses
Don’t know which is worse or even on the same plain… occassional words or regular and routine serial predation.
*sexual
Pov i have 2nd period with him and imma say my self this shit funny asf 🤣, I like the guy but whatever. Good thing he wasn’t racist towards Mexicans but what can stop me from lying.🫡
Democrats being racist? Color me shocked. To be fair, if Tremper is anything like how I remember it from my high school days, I’d throw the N word around a lot to.
Maybe I missed it in my read. Other than the statement that this teacher is a democrat, how do we know that he is. Some evidence of this “fact” would be helpful.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I had a student in his class last year. I removed my child from his class for these exact issues plus more.
He’s a registered Democrat. Not too tough to find that info.
Kusd in the news more than anything. Kusd is a joke
No dates in the article? This did not happen in 2024 or 2023?
It’s slightly dated as I was just tipped off about it. I’m not sure that just because this happened a couple years ago, doesn’t make it any less newsworthy.
What is the current situation with this teacher? Still teaching? Back to coaching? Thankfully, he’s not one of those sex predator(that we know of) so many teachers have been discovered over the last couple years in KUSD! Not that I’m condoning his behavior with swearing or saying namecalling, but if I had a choice, as a parent, I’d choose one over the other anytime! It’s a shame KUSD doesn’t take sexual predators as serious as name calling.
Exactly
guessing the kids have heard those words before in their “music”. Since when is kusd the moral compass?
I agree. It’s lost it offensiveness since it’s every other word in hip hop today.
So KUSD will discipline for this…. But let pedophiles continue to coach basketball.
Just let steve knecht keeping hiring pedophiles to coach young students
He’s so good at running a school at the highest salary and the least experience of all high school principals.
Knecht isn’t qualified to be a principal. He used to be a gym teacher FFS, and doesn’t have the mental acuity to run a school. He probably got some cheap online Masters degree on district time to get where he is.
Knecht should be fired. So many things at Tremper got swept under the rug because of this idiot.
I said dribble , not diddle.
Creepy looking
Funny it says he got a pay cut. Looking at his publicly available salary, he went from making 69K in 2019 to 78K in 2023. Looks like a 10K increase to me.
You really have to be careful with those third party websites. They can sometimes be correct but oftentimes they’re very wrong.
he got suspended for 30 days get your facts and resources straight before you try to ruin someone
Yeah and he still has a job.
In the private sector he’d have been fired. KUSD continues to protect (at best) incompetent teachers, and (at worst) outright predators.
Abolish the unions!
Does it matter if this teacher was a democrat or republican? Maybe he was an independent or green party. His actions appeared wrong no matter what side of the aisle he sat on.
Is this a new story or old news? If it’s old, why are you bringing it up? Are the events in K-town that slow? Come on Kevin, We expect more out of you.
If this is true, shouldn’t we expose music teachers or PE teachers who play music with explicit lyrics?
I recall dances at ITA back in the day where Panic at the Disco’s “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” was played. Even at the time, radio stations covered up the (GD) words.
Just saying…
If you are okay with this kind of language, then that is your prerogative. If being a couple years old absolves him of his behavior around children, that is also your prerogative. But whether it is published on my website or not is my prerogative and my prerogative alone. If people don’t think this is newsworthy they won’t read it.
Words. 🤣
Oh, this is rich. I love it! Paul calls anyone a racist who disagrees with him politically – even if it has NOTHING to do with race. He’s the almighty knowledgeable one on race and can’t possibly be racist, because he’s adopted two BIPOC children after all. How dare we turn the table on him and throw it right back at him! A taste of his own medicine.
You don’t have to be a racist loser pedophile to get a job at the KUSD , but it sure helps.
Another “swell” example of the quality of KUSD
So, teacher used some words in bad taste as teaching, is this correct? it wasn’t like he verbally attacks a person with these words.
And he is suspended and demoted. But we have teachers trying to have sex and have had sex with students!!! OK Humm I’m puzzled!!!
so as i see it KUSd you are going to make a example of this teacher to try justify your action in the other cases .
sounds about right for you all that sit on that board !
Thank you someone with sound mind not that im condoning it but seriously they aint done this much damage to any of the pedophiles in the school system and some are still employed. The Kenosha unified school system is a joke they definingly are trying to justify their pedo problems with this small mishap.
I avoid the N words like a plague, works for me.
Grown ass people scared of a word. Pathetic.
Troll, not the real guy.
So you think….I don’t speak faggot. 🤣
Every time you post, You provide more evidence that you are a closeted homosexual. You must be the only person who does not see the obvious. Do yourself a favor and accept who you really are.
I heard there is a transexual lesbian man teaching health and home economics at one of the schools. “They” also sit on numerous boards and are an investor in Kenosha steam baths. Rumor is he’s using snap chat to talk to teens also and has free maps of the county if you ask nicely.
Name the perv!
Free maps you say? Must be our boy Sgt Hard.
If he’s involved in these steam baths we should also recognize him as Cleveland Steamer.
Also, apparently this person calls all the white boys crackers.
Montenia Nelson is still allowed to be a security guard at Bradford High School and coach basketball after being called out. KUSD gives passes to all of these pedophiles working at our kids’ schools but we should be in uproar about the “N” word?!! I hate the word and would never use it but we have bigger fish to fry.