A North Carolina elementary school teacher and an assistant principal have resigned amid parental outrage over an LGBT-friendly fairy tale that was read to third-grade students at the school, the News & Observer reports. Teacher Omar Currie and Assistant Principal Meg Goodhand, from Efland-Cheeks Elementary School, officially submitted their resignation letters on Monday, an Orange County Schools spokesman confirmed.
Currie reportedly tendered his resignation because he did not feel supported by administrators after he read the story “King & King,” which tells the tale of two princes who fall in love and get married. Currie had hoped that the story would be a learning moment for his third-graders after a boy in his class was called gay and was teased for apparently acting like a girl, the news site notes. Goodhand was reportedly the one who gave Currie the book and even came to his defense at a school meeting.
“I’m just disappointed,” Currie told the news site.
A school review committee “upheld use of the book twice,” according to the news site, but the school’s principal, Keiley Brown, told Currie that teachers would have to give parents a list of all books they read to their students.
Brandy Davis, a parent, along with two other people, formally filed complaints about the fairy tale, appealing the review committee’s ruling to the superintendent, the News & Observer notes. There will be a public meeting Thursday evening at a middle school in Efland as part of the appeal.
As for Currie, he told the news site that he has been on five job interviews, all of which have been positive.
“It’s nice to be told by administrators that my actions were correct,” Currie said.
Read more at the News & Observer.