Local

Teacher accused of calling student 'dumbest girl he ever met'

GREENE COUNTY, Ga. — A Greene County teacher is in trouble after a girl recorded him allegedly answering her question by calling her "the dumbest girl I have ever met."

Shaniaya Hunter, a junior at Greene County High School, has an eye condition that sometimes has kept her out of class.

In December, she was trying to catch up right before a test and asked the teacher a question.

The teacher allegedly said, "I have been around for 37 years and clearly, you are the dumbest girl that I have ever met."

Hunter was recording a lesson on a school-issued iPad when the teacher said things about her she'll never forget.

The teacher also allegedly told Hunter, "You know what your purpose going to be? To have sex and have children, because you ain't gonna never be smart."

"It really hurt me inside," Hunter said.

Hunter's mother and aunt were with her as she spoke with Channel 2's Rikki Klaus at her attorney's office in Greensboro.

Attorney Ben Windham took the case pro bono after Hunter's mother approached the school district and the teacher kept his position.

"This man does not need to be teaching young children. It's not a gray area. End of story," Windham said.

Channel 2 Action News asked Greene County Schools if it took action to discipline the teacher. The district would only respond by saying there are limits to what they can publicly say.

"This is about a school system that is failing our children and allowing these acts to go on," Hunter's aunt, Christie Lockhart, said.

Hunter says she isn't the only student the teacher criticizes harshly, she's just the only one coming forward.

"I don't think it's OK. I don't think he should be here," Hunter said.

"We're gonna fight. We're gonna keep fighting until it's over. It's not over yet," Hunter's mother, Cathy Wright, said.