Resign Or Face Child Porn Charges, Ohio Mayor Tells School Board Over Racy Writing Prompts

The mayor of Hudson City in Ohio told local school board members to step down from their positions during a meeting earlier this week for high school class materials he deemed were indicative of “child pornography.”

Hudson Mayor Craig Shubert told the Hudson Board of Education in the meeting that he has spoken to a judge about the issue and the latter “confirmed” that the school’s “educators are distributing essentially what is child pornography in the classroom,” Fox News reported. “I’m going to give you a simple choice: You either choose to resign from this board of education or you will be charged,” Shubert told all five school board members.

Shubert’s move came after multiple parents complained about some writing prompts found in a book titled, “642 Things to Write About,” wherein one prompt asked students under the college credit course, Writing in the Liberal Arts II, to “write a sex scene you wouldn’t show you mom,” local newspaper the Akron Beacon Journal reported.

Another prompt asked students to “rewrite the sex scene from above into one that you’d let your mom read.”

The material caused outrage among parents, prompting them to complain about the racy prompts in the book, including the one that asked students to drink beer and describe how the beverage tastes. They said such material was inappropriate for high schoolers.

“Do not sexualize our kids,” parent Morris Norman was quoted as saying by ABC affiliate WEWS-TV. Norman added that the students have been told to not bring the book in question home. “Why? So their parents couldn’t see it,” Norman said.

During the board of education meeting, one speaker said the material was “disgusting” and was similar to “grooming.”

Hudson High School Principal Brian Wilch said he, along with the administrative team, had apologized to the students’ parents for the issue, adding that the school is in search of replacement material appropriate for the students.

Despite the outcry, no member of the school board indicated that they will resign. Board president David Zuro said in a statement that the board respects Shubert’s role as the city mayor, NBC News reported.

However, Zuro said, “the supervision of the public schools of this District is the responsibility of the Board of Education.”

Wilch, who said the book has been used in the past, admitted that the administrative team, including himself, failed to “exercise due diligence” in reviewing the book before distributing it to students. It is unclear what charges the board members will be faced with should they continue to ignore Shubert’s call for resignation.