Salem, NH teacher who used racial slur in social media video under investigation

A Salem teacher is under investigation after using a racial slur on social media.

Amy Banks, who is listed on the Salem School District’s website as a seventh-grade teacher at the Woodbury School, said the N-word in a video rant circulating online. It is unclear if the slur was directed toward anyone.

Reached by phone Tuesday, Banks would not comment to Boston 25 News.

But School Committee Chair Mike Carney denounced the video before Tuesday’s committee meeting, saying that language does not reflect the values of the district.

“It was disturbing,” Carney said. “All I can say is it’s being investigated right now. It’s a personnel issue, and it’s going through the proper channels.”

Though Banks’s picture remains on the district website, Carney told Boston 25 News she is off the job and has not been back to school at all for the new academic year starting in August.

“We have hundreds of employees, and it’s an individual,” Carney said. “There’s things going on that I can’t talk about, but that is by far not reflective of the Salem School District.”

Superintendent Maura Palmer declined to comment on the incident or Banks’s status with the district.

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