The Hinds County School Board has upheld the termination of Toby Price, a former assistant principal at Gary Road Elementary School in Byram, Mississippi. He was fired after reading the book “I Need a New Butt!” by Dawn McMillan to second graders.
On May 11, Price provided Discrepancy Report with a letter that says two of the school board’s five members voted to uphold his termination including Linda Laws, the board’s president. Two other board members abstained, and one, Rod Jones, voted nay.
“Hinds County School District does not need to introduce this Book with these themes and pictures to second graders,” says the letter signed by Laws. “Addressing such content would be the prerogative of a parent or guardian. A twenty-year veteran educator like Mr. Price- especially one who had even previously served as a principal – should know better.”
HCSD Order of the Board provided by Toby Price by jmdglss on Scribd
Price is planning to take legal action to fight his termination.
The board voted after meeting with him on the evening of April 28. A hearing including testimony from Price, the superintendent, and others was held on March 21 and 28.
Price said he was removed from his position and barred from campus in early March after reading the book aloud to students.
“My boss had asked me to set up a Zoom with the second-grade classes and the principal at the school they’re going to be at next year, and she was going to read to them. And she didn’t show,” Price told WLBT on March 8. “My boss told me ‘Go ahead and read.’ I grabbed one of my favorite books that I had nearby, I read it to them. It’s a funny, silly book.”
The book’s original publisher, Oratia Media, based in New Zealand, last year was named one of the best children’s publishers of the year at the prestigious Bologna Children’s Book Fair, which is considered the largest children’s book publishing event in the world.
The book’s U.S. publisher, Dover Publications, says it’s meant for children in grades 1-5 (ages 6-10).
Price said he read the book at previous schools but never heard any complaints.
“I didn’t think twice about reading it because I’ve never had an issue with it before. There are other books that have much more suggestive material that are much more widely accepted,” he explained.
A video of Price reading “I Broke My Butt!,” which was also written by McMillan, was shared on the Gary Road Elementary School Facebook page in May 2020, WLBT reported, with no push back from administration, parents, or teachers in the comments at that time. “I Broke My Butt!” is the sequel to “I Need a New Butt!”
“Kids were at home with COVID and we were trying to find ways to engage students while they were at home and several other principals gave me the idea of doing story-time while they were at home,” Price explained at the hearing on March 28.
Delesicia M. Martin, the superintendent of the Hinds County School District, did not immediately respond to more than five emails and a voicemail seeking comment.
Price provided Discrepancy Report with an image of a letter he said he received from Martin on March 3, which says in part:
On Tuesday, March 2, 2022, you read a book entitled ”I Need A New BUTT!” to a group of students via Zoom. The story details a boy’s journey to find a new butt after noticing his butt had a huge crack. During the reading of this book, you read inappropriate words like ”fart” as the story detailed how the boy had developed the huge crack when a fart had ”blew his butt apart and split it clean in two.”‘ You also shared inappropriate pictures that depicted the boy’s naked butt. The book described butts in various colors, shapes, sizes and types (example: fire proof, bullet proof, bomb proof).
The topics described in this book were inappropriate. When asked why you chose this book to share with the class, you stated that it was the only book you had nearby. When asked if you thought the book was appropriate, you stated you thought it was a cute children’s book.
Your actions showed a lack of professionalism and impaired judgement. Based on these incidents the district can no longer trust you to complete your job responsibilities.
The book’s pictures are illustrations, not photographs.
In the letter, Martin says Price’s contract was being terminated because he failed to follow the Mississippi Educator Code of Ethics, Standards of Conduct. The letter says he’s entitled to a hearing.
“I’ve been instructed not to come to the (school),” Price told Discrepancy Report on March 14. “I’m not officially terminated yet.”
He said he thinks it’s a harsh reaction and that in his 20-year education career he’s never previously been disciplined.
At the hearing on March 21, Martin said her decision came after speaking with other educators, according to WLBT.
“The teachers had stated that the content of the book was inappropriate, and several of the teachers had indicated their concern and were very anxious about what was going to happen when parents found out,” she explained.
But when asked if any parents or students complained about the book being read, she said no.
On March 28, the Hinds County School District subpoenaed Amanda Stocks, the assistant superintendent of the Rankin County School District, where Price worked previously, WLBT reported. She spoke about his employment history. Price said he worked for the district for 17 years, spending his last three years with the RCSD from 2016 to 2019 as principal of Richland Upper Elementary School. Price was hired by the Hinds County School District in 2019.
“There was a list of concerns presented to Mr. Price about his job performance and there were conversations about him being non-renewed,” Stocks said about his time with the Rankin County School District.
But after she declined to elaborate on those concerns, Price’s attorney Joel Dillard argued that just because he resigned from Rankin and moved to Hinds doesn’t mean he did anything wrong.
Martin’s termination letter to Price makes no mention of his record at Rankin.
“You’ll notice there’s been no testimony about his performance at this school district, except his own testimony that he did a great job,” Dillard told WJTV regarding Price’s hearing. “It remains undisputed that he’s got no discipline. It remains undisputed that they had no problem with his performance in Hinds County until he read that book.”
The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) denied a public records request Discrepancy Report filed on March 14 that asked whether Price had been investigated or disciplined in the past. A spokesperson for the Rankin County School District did not immediately respond to four emails and a voicemail seeking comment on his employment record.
‘Definitely some inconsistencies’
Past reports, meanwhile, show multiple educators in Mississippi have been allowed to keep working with children after facing criminal and ethics violations.
A WLBT investigation found that in 2016 34 educators in the state were accused of or reprimanded for having unethical educator-student relationships. In 2018, administrators told WLBT that of those educators, at least four still worked in their respective school districts.
The Clarion-Ledger found “that (from 2009-2016), 52 educators’ licenses were reinstated following a previous revocation, suspension or voluntary surrender. Records show the commission issued licenses to another 23 educators despite knowing they had been convicted of felonies or lost their licenses in other states — sometimes for serious offenses. … A principal served four years and two months in prison for attempted murder. Another pleaded guilty to embezzling $73,033 in electronics from his school. One teacher struck a student, and several others were accused of misconduct involving students.”
The newspaper also said, “According to the licensure commission’s meeting minutes, eight educators’ licenses were reinstated (from 2009-2016) after misconduct with a student, which can include student-teacher relationships, physical abuse, or harassment. In some cases, the commission’s minutes said the educators had shown signs of rehabilitation, allowing them to renew their licenses.”
“There are definitely some inconsistencies of who receives what consequences,” Price said.
The Clarion-Ledger reports that New York nonprofit PEN America sent a letter to the Hinds County School District and started a petition asking the district to reinstate Price.
“Your decision to punish Mr. Price for reading this book is deeply concerning. It is a threat to the freedom to read, learn, and teach, which should be protected and upheld in schools,” the letter states. “Reading and sharing literature, even on silly topics, should be celebrated in public education, not become a cause for punishment.”
A witness Price called at his hearing, Brian Kissel, the director of elementary education and a literacy professor at Vanderbilt University, said he believes the book gets children who are reluctant about reading interested in turning the pages, WLBT reported.
“This is a book that is going to be appealing to kids and they’ll find funny. And I think it’s wholly appropriate to use that in a classroom with kids because we know that’s going to hook them in as readers,” he said. “They’re going to be excited about reading it, you know. They’re going to get a laugh out of it, and, you know, the kids are probably going to want to pick up and find other books in that series to read.”
Price has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money entitled “I Need a New Job ‘BUTT’ I have bills to pay.”
“It will keep lights on and keep the mortgage going until we figure it out,” he said.
Price is married with three teenage children, including two with autism. He’s worried about not having health insurance to cover medical visits and medicine for his family.
He said the HCSD stopped paying him on March 21. He is now substitute teaching at his daughter’s school.
The MDE’s website shows Price’s license as an educator and administrator is still valid.
