RIO RANCHO, N.M., Dec. 9 (UPI) -- The New Mexico teacher who resigned amid controversy about a student's pot-dealing Jesus story said the complaining student bragged about getting her fired.
Katrina Guarascio, who formerly taught creative writing at Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho, said she assigned her students in October to rewrite a fairy tale or legend to take place in modern times.
Guarascio said one student focused on the biblical story of Jesus handing out bread and fish to the poor and changed it to Jesus distributing medical marijuana to the sick.
"I don't take any personal offense. It's not written for me. It's written for them. It's how they can express themselves," Guarascio told KOAT-TV.
However, she said one student took offense to the story during peer review and complained to administrators, who placed Guarascio on leave pending an investigation.
Guarascio said she resigned amid harassment and pressure from administrators. She said in a Facebook post the district "does not acknowledge their teachers' hard work and sacrifices."
The teacher wrote "the student who complained actually boasted to her classmates about how she was 'going to get her teacher fired.'"
A spokeswoman for Rio Rancho schools said Guarascio was not forced to resign.
