A Mississippi school district upheld the firing of an assistant principal for reading a humorous children’s book titled ‘I Need A New Butt!’ to pupils, a report said.
The book talks about a teenage boy on a quest to find a new bottom after he sees a “crack” in his current bottom which makes him afraid it is broken.
In March, assistant principal Toby Price, who worked at Gary Road elementary school in Hinds County, Mississippi, was sacked after reading the book to 240 children in a Zoom session.
In a letter to parents, the district superintendent’s office called the book “inappropriate” as it “described butts in various colors, shapes and sizes (example: fireproof, bulletproof, bombproof)”.
“The book contains statements and cartoon pictures regarding bodily anatomy, bodily functions and removing clothing to expose private areas of the body in various positions,” the district said.
Price was accused of violating the Mississippi Educator Code of Ethics and was fired two days later as a result. He appealed. However, on Monday, his legal team informed him that the firing was upheld, The Guardian reported.
According to a Washington Post report, the district said: “Mr. Price’s contract should be terminated due to his incompetence, neglect of duty, and for good cause.”
According to the report, two board members voted yes, one voted no and two abstained. As an assistant principal for twenty years, Price plans to seek an appeal with the chancery courts of Mississippi. If that does not work, he will finally take his case to the state supreme court.
“If that’s where it ends up, that’s where it ends up,” he told the Washington Post.
“We expected this part to happen but at the same time it doesn’t make it any easier,” he said, adding: “It still stings.”
A GoFundMe campaign was launched to support Price, who said he had turned down out-of-state job offers, and his family has raised more than $125,000.
“We have a lot of reluctant readers,” Price told the New York Times, adding: “I am a firm believer that reluctant readers need the silly, funny books to hook them in.”
