School leader fired for reading 'New Butt' book awaits fate

BYRAM, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi educator will have to wait to see if he will be rehired after he was fired for reading a children’s book called “I Need a New Butt!” to a group of second graders.

Toby Price is trying to regain his job as assistant principal at Gary Road Elementary in the Jackson suburb of Byram in Hinds County. His employment appeal hearing started last week and resumed Monday, lasting about five hours, WJTV-TV reported.

The Hinds County School Board’s decision on Price’s employment is expected in about two months.

Price was initially suspended with pay but later fired after reading the book to young students over Zoom. The book, by Dawn McMillan, chronicles a child's journey to find a new backside. It is illustrated with cartoons that show the character considering an armor-plated butt, a rocket butt and a robot butt.

In a statement after the hearing, Superintendent Delesicia Martin called the book “inappropriate.”

“First and foremost, 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," Martin said. "These statements and pictures are inappropriate for an educator to read and display to second graders, especially without advance notice to the teachers of the students.”

Teachers have been under increased scrutiny nationwide as advocates have pushed book challenges and bans in an attempt to restrict how students are taught certain subjects, particularly around racism, sexuality and gender.

During the first hearing, Price’s attorney listed other books in the school's library that have similar themes or illustrations, including “Captain Underpants.”

Price described the book as “silly” and one that children could enjoy, the Clarion...