FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – A North Carolina history teacher who desecrated an American flag in a lesson about the First Amendment will not return to a Cumberland County classroom.

The Cumberland County School Board is reviewing a 10-day unpaid suspension district superintendent Frank Till Jr. issued to Massey Hill Classical High School teacher Lee Francis after he stomped on the American flag to teach students about First Amendment rights, the Fayetteville Observer reports.

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Francis told the news site that after a private meeting with Till on Wednesday, he learned that regardless of the board’s decision the superintendent doesn’t plan on putting him in front of students again, ever, according to WTVD.

“He said he would not be returning me to a classroom, even if the board rejects his decision,” Francis told the Observer. “Or renewing my contract.”

Till placed Francis on paid administrative leave and reassigned him to work in a warehouse after the Sept. 19 lesson about the 1989 Supreme Court case Texas v. Johnson, which upheld flag degradation as protected free speech. Students said Francis initially asked them for a lighter, or scissors, and took down the flag and stomped on it when nobody offered to help.

After the incident, two students took the crumpled flag to the principal “to be properly taken care of,” while others posted a picture of the teacher standing on the flag online, where it created a firestorm of criticism. Many folks angered by the blatant disrespect for Old Glory pointed out that the town is home to Fort Bragg, the largest military base in the world, according to the news site.

Other folks supported the teacher’s right to free speech, though they seem to be in the minority.

“It is unfortunate for everyone concerned but at the end of the day he did not use good judgment – IF his only intention was to teach. Nobody won here, really, but it was a no-win situation as soon as his foot hit that flag,” Connie Reagan posted to Facebook.

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“What good news! It’s clear that Francis is not as good a teacher as he thinks he is and now he’s found that he’s also not the savior of society that his delusions of grandeur lead him to believe he is either,” retired Fayetteville police sergeant Jerry Schrecker wrote.

The incident divided the community, with Francis linking the incident to police brutality and holding demonstrations and others calling for his termination, and criminal charges, as they waived American flags across the street from the school.

Francis told the Observer he attempted to strike a deal with Till that would allow him back into the classroom, but the superintendent wasn’t interested. Till, meanwhile, declined to comment about the ordeal because it’s a “personnel matter.”

“He is confident the board will make the proper decision,” Francis said of Till.

Francis argued students have lost out on valuable classroom lessons since a substitute teacher took over his class.

“The students are losing out,” he said. “Students have told me they are just taking notes, and no one is teaching them. It makes me feel heartbroken essentially when they say we want rigor in our classrooms and teaching to be accurate and factual.”

He contends Till is ruining teaching.

“It seems to be the superintendent is kind of silencing not only my voice, but the voice of those that teach,” Francis said. “It’s important to note that I didn’t go outside of the material of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. We’re stifling teachers in this country, and so ‘Who’s Next?’ is the question.”

Francis told the Observer he hired an attorney, Allen Rogers, and is considering a lawsuit against the district pending the school board’s final decision, which has not been scheduled.