‘It’s awesome he’s dying:’ MPS teacher on leave after tweets on Rush Limbaugh’s lung cancer
By WITI-TV,Milwaukee
Milwaukee Alderman Bob Donovan in a statement Wednesday, Feb . 5 called for the discipline of a Milwaukee Public Schools teacher due to his tweets in the wake of Rush Limbaugh‘s revelation he has advanced lung cancer. The alderman wrote that this teacher, “has no business in an MPS system classroom.” MPS officials announced Wednesday afternoon the teacher was placed on leave.
Rush Limbaugh, the most prominent political radio host in the United States, said Monday, Feb. 3 he is beginning treatment for lung cancer. Limbaugh, 69, told his radio audience Monday that he was diagnosed with an advanced stage of the disease. He said the diagnosis was confirmed on Jan. 20.
After that announcement, Donovan said in his statement Travis Sarandos, a teacher at Milwaukee High School of the Arts, took to Twitter and “told his 1,323 followers he was glad,” writing, “Rush Limbaugh absolutely should have to suffer from cancer. It’s awesome that he’s dying, and hopefully, it is as quick as it is painful.”
Donovan’s statement noted Sarandos took down his Twitter page Tuesday. FOX6 News obtained screenshots of the tweets.
Alderman Donovan’s full statement is below:
“The Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) system makes much of the importance of inclusion, tolerance, diversity, and mutual respect. How, then, can it countenance the remarks made by Travis Sarandos, a teacher at the Milwaukee School of the Arts, via his Twitter account?”
“Shortly after political commentator Rush Limbaugh told his listeners he had been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer, Mr. Sarandos took to Twitter and told his 1,323 followers he was glad. “(R)ush limbaugh absolutely should have to suffer from cancer,” he wrote in a post as lacking in proper English usage as it is in tact. “(I)t’s awesome that he’s dying, and hopefully it is as quick as it is painful.”
“Not content to confine his rage to pundits, Mr. Sarandos earlier despaired for our collective future absent the extinction — the extinction, mind you — of Christian conservative voters. As a possible remedy to their presence in the voting public he suggested, “…maybe we poison the communion wine?”
“Likely realizing he had been found out by WISN radio’s Mark Belling, Mr. Sarandos, as of last evening, had taken down his Twitter page. It would be easy enough to dismiss ill-written, juvenile nonsense like this were it not for his role in teaching our City’s young people. He is supposed to be an example of the inclusive, tolerant, and respectful spirit of the Milwaukee Public schools. He is clearly nothing of the sort. And he did not make his remarks in private. He made them on one of the most public of platforms where any of his students could easily have seen them.”
“In a referendum question on the Spring ballot, the MPS system will shortly be asking all Milwaukee residents to raise their taxes for its benefit. Its representatives must surely know that one of the questions many have about approving this referendum is whether the system will be good stewards of the money provided. If the MPS system is aware of Mr. Sarandos’ statements and has taken no corrective action, it is hard to make the case that it has its own house in order.”
“Mr. Sarandos’ remarks deserve discipline. In the meanwhile, he has no business in an MPS system classroom.”
An MPS spokeswoman issued this statement Tuesday, Feb. 4:
“We are aware of Mr. Sarandos’ actions and can confirm that he was not speaking on behalf of any students or staff of Milwaukee High School of the Arts or Milwaukee Public Schools. Mr. Sarandos is currently a teacher with MPS and has been with the district since 2017.”
This updated statement was issued Wednesday:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/it-s-awesome-he-s-dying-mps-teacher-on-leave-after-tweets-on-rush-limbaugh-s-lung-cancer/ar-BBZGJ3F?ocid=hplocalnews