Teacher Says Bush Pic Got Her in Trouble

A New Jersey middle school teacher says she was singled out by her school when she was disciplined for having a photo of President Bush in her classroom.

Shiba Pillai-Diaz (search) said she was told to remove the photo of Bush and other materials, including postcards of the White House and a copy of the Declaration of Independence (search), from a bulletin board after confrontations with parents and administrators.

Pillai-Diaz, who teaches English at Crossroads South Middle School (search) in South Brunswick, N.J., said she was singled out because she volunteers for the Republican Party.

"They said if you care about your employment, you will take the picture down," Pillai-Diaz told FOX News, referring to school administrators.

South Brunswick Superintendent Gary McCartney (search) released a statement saying, "Ms. Pillai-Diaz was using her position, classroom and teaching time to engage in partisan politics ... telling some students who offered opinions contrary to her statements, that she was 'glad they were not old enough to vote' ... (and) 'you should be ashamed to be a Democrat.'"

Pillai-Diaz denies the accusations. She said after she was told to take the photos down, she fled the school because she thought she had been fired. But the school has retained her on staff and said Wednesday she'd be teaching students one-on-one.

Some in the community think Pillai-Diaz should quit while she's ahead.

Parent Michelle Donahue said, "I just feel like she has been lying about everything, about everything the kids have been saying, about what the superintendent has been saying."

Click on the video box near the top of this story to watch a report by FOX News' Rick Leventhal.