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FOX RIVER GROVE – A former District 3 art teacher who was fired last week claims that his instruction on veganism and animal rights was an attempt to teach students about the power of advertising in the visual arts.

Dave Warwak, 44, of Williams Bay, Wis., alleged in an appeal filed Wednesday that District 3 officials ignored the Federal Trade Commission’s ruling against misleading commercial advertising in schools by refusing to take down a poster promoting milk in the Fox River Grove Middle School cafeteria.

Warwak said his decision to give students literature promoting veganism and animals rights was an attempt to teach them about how the meat and dairy industries use their “influence to shape and guide the values and morals of society through indoctrination.”

School officials and parents have said the materials contained graphic images depicting animal cruelty in food production that were inappropriate for middle-school children.

School board members voted, 7-0, to fire Warwak on Sept. 24. They said he began teaching veganism and animal rights instead of art without telling school officials or parents, told students to keep it a secret, and then refused to answer school officials’ questions about what he was teaching.

Warwak on Wednesday sent a certified letter to District 3 officials and the Illinois State Board of Education requesting a hearing on his appeal.

“Now, I’m finally getting people in the room who are going to be asking questions and getting to the bottom of things, and when it comes out, it’s not going to be pretty,” Warwak said.

Warwak also accused school officials Wednesday of not adequately addressing bullying, that he said was taking place between students inside and outside his classroom. He said school officials’ lack of attention to the issue showed their tendency to ignore the problems of today’s youth.

Middle School Principal Tim Mahaffy said Wednesday that officials deal with any instances of bullying according to the school’s code of conduct.

Superintendent Jacqueline Krause did not return phone calls seeking comment Wednesday.

In his appeal, Warwak accuses school officials of preventing him from performing his duties as an art teacher and of exposing him to “hatred, contempt, and ridicule” while he was trying to perform those duties.

He also accused Krause of failing to provide training for teachers on how to incorporate moral and humane education into their curriculum, which Warwak has contended was the purpose of his discussions on veganism.

Warwak, who became a vegan in January, said he would drop his appeal if the school agreed to switch cafeteria menus to exclude meat and dairy products.

“If the school goes vegan, everything’s fine,” he said.