Vegan teacher suspended with pay

Fox River Grove Middle School art teacher Dave Warwak has been suspended with pay for urging school officials and students to learn more about veganism.

Warwak said he received a letter from the school district on Thursday instructing him to stay away from school grounds "except to return (school) materials to the district office."

The brief letter does not mention the length of Warwak's suspension or how officials plan to handle his future tenure with the school district.

The letter also makes no explicit mention of pay. Warwak said he was told by school officials he would be suspended with pay.

"I had my check deposited last night, so they're still paying me," Warwak said. "This letter is their way of saying ‘we're in control.' Now they're looking at ways to defend themselves or smear me, and they're coming up empty on both fronts."

Tim Mahaffy, the school's principal, confirmed Warwak is still an employee of the district, and the school district is conducting an "investigation" into Warwak's tenure. Mahaffy declined further comment on the art teacher's tenure.

Warwak threatened to sue school officials earlier this week after he was removed from his classroom for teaching his students about the benefits of a vegan lifestyle.

The dispute between Warwak and school officials stemmed from concerns Warwak had with lunchroom posters promoting the health benefits of drinking milk.

Warwak, who excludes all animal products from his diet, said he urged school officials to remove the posters because he believed it promoted an unhealthy dietary choice.

Warwak told school officials on Monday that unless the middle school served exclusively vegan lunches, which contain no animal products, Warwak would pursue a case against the school for violation of the Illinois school code.