Gay Kansas school teacher forced to leave town after threatening letters and harassment

Michael Hill, an art teacher at a high school in Kansas, has been forced to pack up and leave the small town he lives in after receiving a series of threatening letters. Hill, who teaches at Nemaha Central High School in Seneca, a small town of 2,000 people, started receiving the letters shortly after coming out.

A snapshot of him dining with a male friend began circulating and he came home one day to find his tires punctured and the word “faggot” written on dust on his car. In the letters, a “concerned patron” tells Hill that “the homosexual lifestyle is not in keeping with the values of this community” and that “queers will burn and so will you. Don’t think my friends and I ain’t still after you.”

Hill reported the incidents to the police, but the perpetrator was never found. Too afraid to leave his home Hill took several weeks of unpaid medical leave. The school told him he had to return, but Hill did not feel safe.

“It was very frustrating, that my option was to pack up and move,” he said.

Superintendent Darrel Kohlman said that “Mr Hill was our art department. He was the director of our plays, and he did a very good job as a classroom teacher. We’re sorry not to have him anymore.” 

Hill shared the letters on Facebook, writing that “People need to know this kind of ugly hatred still exists in the world only by confronting it can we end it. As a result of this, I made the difficult decision to pack up and make a huge leap of faith and moved to Palm Springs.”

Tim Gibson - myGwork

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