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NILES, Mich. — REAL News has learned a Brandywine Middle School English Teacher in Niles, Michigan, who recently resigned following major backlash after he drew a penis on the whiteboard in front of children is now claiming he was forced to walk away from his position because he’s gay.
David Staggs was caught up in multiple police and school district investigations after a REAL News investigation in December uncovered he had drawn a picture of a hairy, veiny, erect penis on the whiteboard in front of a classroom full of children. Staggs resigned late last month.
In a post to Facebook last week, Staggs stated, “With a homophobic school board trying to ‘get rid’ of me… I chose to leave.”
Staggs went on to post a copy of his resignation letter where he claims he was discriminated against because of his sexuality.
“As you are aware, I have been informed that there are concerns about my trustworthiness to make the appropriate decisions when with students… with the knowledge of higher administration and school board members alike discussing how to ‘get rid of me’ and being told to ‘keep my head down and push through’, I no longer feel welcome or safe in a place I once did.” Staggs wrote in his resignation letter posted online. “Moreover, since openly embracing my identity as a gay individual, I have noticed a shift in the way I am treated within the school community. I believe in fostering an inclusive and accepting environment, and it is disconcerting to feel that my personal life is negatively impacting my professional standing.”
According to sources, the incident involving the drawing of the penis happened sometime in late November 2023. A student in the class took a picture of Mr. Staggs as he finished the drawing. That picture was shared with other students and parents and was eventually shared with REAL News. The staff directory for Brandywine schools listed Staggs as an English Language Arts and Yearbook teacher at Brandywine Middle/High School.
According to Brandywine Community Schools Superintendent Travis Walker, Staggs was asked by a female Health Teacher to come into her classroom to draw the picture for her students during sex education curriculum.
“Using a drawing of the male genitalia to teach the content exhibited poor judgement.” Walker told REAL News in an email. “Depicting veins and pubic hair did not contribute to the teaching of the proper use of condoms. The brandywine administration and board of education do not approve of or condone the use of drawings to teach this content. Staff have been directed to refrain from drawing genitalia and any violation of this directive will be handled by school administration.”
RADICAL IDEOLOGY
A cursory search of Mr. Staggs’ social media accounts shows a radical ideology when it comes to the sexualization of children. He has made multiple posts on Facebook that appear to advocate children disclosing their sexual preferences to teachers, while hiding that information from their parents.
Other social media posts made by Staggs appear to be protesting an initiative by the school board to remove porongraphic material from Brandywine school libraries. Last year, the school board created the Explicit Material Book Review Committee. The committee’s purpose is simple: Inventory books that contain sexual content, create a checkout protocol in which students are allowed to check them out (including parental consent) and create a process to vet new material being admitted.
Since the creation of the book committee, teachers and other radical activists have attended nearly every board meeting to express their displeasure with the committee that is simply ensuring kids aren’t being given full access to pornographic material. Spearheading the opposition has been another English Teacher, Debbie Carew.
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