When word got out that Mr. McBeth, a popular substitute teacher in two southern New Jersey school districts, was about to come back to class as Miss McBeth, it caused an uproar.
The former William McBeth had undergone sex reassignment surgery and was now Lily McBeth. The schools’ 2006 decision to keep her on as a substitute were hailed around the nation as a model of tolerance and acceptance of transgender Americans.
But the storybook ending everyone thought they were getting never happened: The 75-year-old McBeth has received only a handful of assignments since then and is resigning in frustration.
The Eagleswood Township School District says McBeth was needed less after it hired a full-time substitute. The Pinelands Regional School District declined to comment.
