Denton ISD will reassign an assistant principal who sparked controversy when he self-published a children's book featuring Pepe the Frog, a symbol that has been associated with racists.

Eric Hauser, author of The Adventures of Pepe and Pede, was removed from his position Monday, Denton ISD said. He was assistant principal of the new Rodriguez Middle School in Oak Point, which will open for students Wednesday.

The school district said in a written statement Monday that the administrator and his book "drew controversy to himself and the district."

Hauser has said he did not realize the frog featured in his conservative-themed book was connected to the so-called alt-right movement until after it was published Aug. 1.

Rodriguez Middle School assistant principal Eric Hauser says he knew Pepe as a conservative meme, not one embraced by white supremacists (Tailyr Irvine / Staff Photographer)

"The book is the creative property of Mr. Hauser and is not tied with the district, its curriculum or instructional materials -- yet the attention it brought him and the book's implied message has been a distraction to his colleagues across Denton ISD," the statement said.

He will be reassigned to a yet-to-be-determined role that will not involve being a campus administrator or educator, the district said.

"Due to the controversy surrounding the book I have published, I think it's best that I not serve as assistant principal at Rodriguez," Hauser said in the statement. "The students, the community and the teachers are too important to me to subject them to all the negativity and disapproval resulting from this book. To my colleagues, I offer my deepest apologies if this has affected them or their families in any negative way."

The district did not learn about the book until last week, when Hauser contacted adminstrators about it, Denton ISD spokesman Mario Zavala said.

Pepe the Frog has been used in recent years by the "alt-right," a racist movement whose name was coined by Dallas native Richard Spencer.

The character was originally a "blissfully stoned frog" in the comic book Boy's Club in 2006, creator Matt Furie said, but the meme has been designated as a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League for its growing use in racist and anti-Semitic posts.

Hauser's book follows Pepe and a centipede named Pede living on Wishington Farm that has a new farmer. The pair save a pond that was taken over by a bearded alligator named Alkah and his minions by using "truth blossoms" from the "honesty tree."

Hauser knew Pepe as a conservative meme, he said, not a white supremacist one. Once people learned about his book, though, they started discussing the darker aspects of Pepe with him.

Hauser said he doesn't align with the alt-right "at all" and said chose Pepe because he's a "funny," "lovable character." The same goes for Pede, he said, which is short for centipede.

Some supporters of President Donald Trump call themselves centipedes. That reference comes from a YouTube series of Republican debate footage mashed up with a centipede killing a tarantula, BuzzFeed reports.

Staff writer Liz Farmer contributed to this report.