"My kids have been called n----- at school and told by teachers, 'Don't let that bother you, it's just a word,' " Tamu Smith told dozens of parents, educators and state officials Thursday night at a community meeting in Provo. "These things are not OK."

Even worse, Smith and others allege, such racism is being allowed to continue in schools throughout Utah's second-most populous county.

Parents say Mexico native Maylene Ornelas, a girls basketball player at Mountain View High, has endured chants of "green card, green card" and "USA, USA" at basketball games.

Jim Workman says his son recently asked him if he could transfer from Timpview High to Provo High because every day someone calls him by the n-word.

"We need to be more proactive than reactive - there's an education problem here," Workman said. "It's not a sports problem; that's just where it rears its ugly head. It's a tragedy to do nothing."

School officials hope Thursday's gathering at The Center in Provo shows they are serious about addressing the issue.

The meeting comes after a February basketball game in which Smith's daughter, Maykela Cox, a member of Provo High's freshmen girls' basketball team, was called a racial slur by a Springville Junior High player.

Smith contacted the athletic director and school administration after the name-calling and received, what she called, "a joke of an apology" from the coach at the Nebo School District junior high.

Greg Hudnall, Provo School District's director of student services, vowed Thursday to form a committee to meet monthly to address the concerns.

"It's not a perfect world," Hudnall said. "Public schools are a reflection of society. That's an unfortunate thing, but that's a reality."

Officials say the Provo School District is one of the more progressive in the state with a policy that condemns racism and allows administrators to expel students who use racial epithets.

But that's not enough, according to Karyn Dudley.

"It amazes me that we can put men on the moon, fly a plane in the air, but we can't educate about racism," Dudley said.

"There's a black-student club at Provo but they can't even find an adviser."

Michael Styles, the director of the Utah Office of Black Affairs, attended Thursday's meeting and called on administrators and coaches to take charge in wiping out racism.

"We're here to correct an error," Styles said. "It seems evident that there is some educating that we need to do."

thollingshead@sltrib.com