SAN DIEGO -- A Mira Mesa High School math teacher is on administrative leave, accused of looking at lingerie during class.
Sources told 10News students were taking a test while the teacher was surfing EBay. The teacher was so preoccupied with what he was looking at he didn't realize his laptop was connected to the classroom projector and students were recording everything with their cellphones.
"He never even looked up, it's not even just the fact of what he did, but what is he doing in class? He's sitting there doing nothing," parent Catherine Castillo said.
Castillo's son is a sophomore at Mira Mesa High School. She learned about the incident when the principal sent an email to parents Tuesday afternoon, even though it happened last week.
"They could have said possible misconduct. They just said it's a personnel issue and we wanted to let you guys know before the news got a hold of it, so basically they were covering their butts," Castillo said.
The principal did not identify the teacher, but 10News sources identified him Paul Swanson, also the school's track coach. He's on administrative leave pending an investigation.
10News attempted to talk to Swanson, but the gate to his home was padlocked.
Castillo said the school should have tighter filters on its computers.
"Not just that he did it, but the fact he was able to do it and obviously knew he was able to do it, which means it's not the first time he's done it," Castillo said.
The video quickly made its way on social media. One site captioned it "Alga-Bra."
"Evidently, it's been a running joke, ever since," Castillo said.
"He can't control his web surfing for lingerie around impressionable teenagers? Even if he hadn't had the projector on what if one of the students had walked up and saw that on his screen?"
One former student believes Swanson should be allowed back.
"It shouldn't have been happening with minors, he should know better,” said the student, who asked us not to release his name. “That being said, there was no nudity or anything, it was just lingerie. I don't support it, but I don't think he should lose his job."
Calls for comment to the San Diego Unified School District were not immediately returned.
"The complete lack awareness of what's going on in his classroom, if nothing else, is ridiculous," Castillo said.
