August 10, 2007 - An art teacher Monessen High School teacher, resigned following a date with a porn star that he won in a contest sponsored by "Bubba the Love Sponge," a Sirius satellite show. The teacher won the trip last month to St. Petersburg, Fla., to meet with porn star Akira.
The wheelchair-bound teacher told a local newspaper that he felt ridiculed and offended by the way he was portrayed on the show. He also expressed concern about his status as a teacher.
A host on the show, known as "Spice." joked that the contest to date a porn star was fine for a "ditch digger" but not a teacher.
The school board accepted his resignation for "retirement purposes."
According to the state Public School Code, a teacher's job can be terminated for such reasons as "immorality, incompetency, cruelty, persistent negligence, mental derangement, advocation of, or participating in un-American or subversive doctrines and persistent and willful violation of the school laws of the state."
ONLINE RESOURCE: The Standards and Practices Practices Commission at the Pennsylvania Department of Education maintains and online list of actions taken against teaching certificates
See their FAQ
