BEAVERTON, Ore. -- The Beaverton school district is facing a $125,000 lawsuit from a former music, drama and language arts teacher.

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Wade Willis says he had no choice but to resign after he proposed staging a controversial play at Southridge High and was "harassed, intimidated and humiliated."

The play was "The Laramie Project," about the 1998 murder of gay college student Matthew Shepard.

School officials shut down the production in September 2005, saying the play had profanity and sexual content, though a play committee later voted that it be put on under certain conditions.

District officials declined to comment to The Oregonian this week because they had not yet been served with the lawsuit.