CERRO GORDO, NC (WWAY) -- The Columbus County School District got more than 300 phone calls from across the country after a fake photo went viral on Facebook.
Cerro Gordo Elementary's principal Kent Lovett says it all began when a second grade teacher asked her students to write an essay about a hero.
"We had a student who wanted to write about Jesus Christ as being her hero," Lovett said.
Then Lovett says the student asked the teacher for help.
"The teacher said, 'Are you sure this is what you want to write?' The teacher said, 'You can write about mom or dad.' The student said 'no I want to write about Jesus.' So the teacher helped her write the assignment," Lovett said.
According to Snopes.com, another media outlet posted a picture of the student's rough draft saying the teacher had rejected it.
"Our teachers, no one at this school would ever tell a child that they cannot talk about Jesus Christ," Lovett said.
Then someone on Facebook posted a different picture referring people to the elementary school. This paper has an F at the top and says "Remove Jesus please."
"The community knows," Lovett said. "It's just not true."
The person also listed the school's contact information saying "share and fire 'em up."
The post has more than 28,000 shares and the Columbus County School District has gotten more than 300 phone calls this week.
Lovett says the local community knows they have a good reputation.
"Our reputation outside of Columbus County has been damaged and that's unfair to our school and to our kids," Lovett said.
Lovett says none of the phone calls have been from local numbers, but they need to stop.
"We're about education," Lovett said. "If we're getting 300 or 400 phone calls, we can't educate our kids if we're having to address issues that have nothing to do with what we're here about."
