The administrator of Walter Hill Elementary School in Rutherford County, Tennessee, has been recommended for dismissal after reportedly dragging a special needs kid approximately two football fields.
A Tennessee school board decided on Thursday to recommend that a principal be fired after he was accused of dragging a special education student by his ankle through a corridor in 2019.
The first incident occurred on November 4, 2019, when an elementary special education student refused to comply with a request from Walter Hill Elementary administrator Helen Campbell.
According to Director of Schools Bill Spurlock, when the boy refused to comply with the order, Campbell and Bonnie Marlar, a teacher, seized him by the ankles and dragged him through the corridors.
Both Campbell and Marlar were charged with child abuse, but the allegations were ultimately dropped by a court. According to the article, the employees were fired from their positions at the primary school.
Campbell’s charges, which range from child abuse to destruction of government property after allegedly attempting to delete security footage of the incident, meet the definition of unprofessional conduct, according to Spurlock, and are grounds for dismissal at a Rutherford County Schools board meeting on Thursday.
Campbell pled not guilty to charges of destruction of government records and negligence, and will complete probation through judicial diversion to have the charges dismissed.
According to the story, the youngster who was reportedly dragged down the corridor had autism. Laura Heath is the temporary principal at the moment.
Still photographs from a tape of the event, which show the youngster being dragged across the corridor, were given by the school board’s counsel.
Campbell and Marlar hoisted the student up in the administrative office by the gaps in his pants.
The attorney said that after leaving the office, the individuals were grabbing his wrists and arms. According to the counsel, the individuals pulled the kid 570 feet, about two football fields, with his shirt riding up in the back and his exposed flesh pressing up against the floor.
By a 5-2 vote, the school board recommended Campbell’s dismissal.
