Teacher Fired for Bible: Walt Tutka Sacked After Quoting Bible and Giving Bible to Curious Student
A New Jersey teacher has been fired for giving a Bible to a student, according to a complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission this week.
Substitute teacher Walt Tutka has filed a formal complaint against the Phillipsburg School District on April 10 on grounds of religious discrimination and retaliation, according to The Warren Reporter.
It all started when Tutka quoted a Bible verse to a student who was standing last in line. He quoted: 'The first shall be last and the last shall be first' which is mentioned in Matthew 19:30, Mark 10:31 of the Bible.
In October, the student, who is not named, is said to have "repeatedly" inquired about Tutka's remark before he told him that it was from the Bible. Tutka then asked the student if he owned one. The student said he didn't.
According to the complaint, the teacher then gave a pocket-sized Bible that he was carrying to the student.
Afterwards, Tutka worked his last day in the district three days later. He was subsequently fired by the school board on Jan. 14.
"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," reads Tutka's complaint.
"It is shocking that the school district has forced Walt to file a complaint with the EEOC for religious discrimination," Hiram Sasser, director of litigation for Liberty Institute," told The Warren Reporter. "All Walt did was respond to a student's intellectual curiosity and the school district suspended and then terminated him."
Should Tutka have been fired for quoting and handing out a Bible to the curious student? Leave your comments below!