1/14/12 – School officials in Slinger are considering punitive action against a veteran teacher who wrote an offensive e-mail to State Representative Don Pridemore. John Koszarek is a social studies teacher at Slinger High School who has taught in the district for 34 years. He sent an answer to Pridemore’s e-mailed newsletter about the effects of state legislation on area school districts. Pridemore said those districts had benefited from the budgetary tools passed last year by the Republican-controlled Legislature. Koszarek replied, saying, quoting here, “Of course you are in Washington County where Hitler would have defeated Reagan had he the ‘R’ in front of his name on the ballot.” The teacher says he never meant to say the people of Washington County are Nazis. He says he shouldn’t have used the Hitler reference, but he was right in saying local voters automatically cast their ballots for Republican candidates.
