Rutherford County Principal Fired For Dragging Special Needs Student Through Hallway

Image Credit: Rutherford County School Board

The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –

The Rutherford County School Board voted last week to terminate an elementary school principal accused of dragging a special needs student down a lengthy hallway.

Walter Hill Elementary School principal Helen Campbell has been on an unpaid suspension stemming from an incident in which she allegedly pulled a special education student, who is reported to have autism, the length of almost two football fields by his ankle in 2019.

The incident took place on November 4, 2019. According to Bill Spurlock, Director of Schools in Rutherford County, the student refused to follow instructions given by Campbell. When this occurred, Campbell, along with teacher Bonnie Marlar, grabbed the student’s ankles and dragged him through the hallways.

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Charges of child abuse were brought against both school employees, but a judge later dismissed them. Both Campbell and Marlar were suspended without pay from their jobs at Walter Hill.

At the board meeting, Spurlock said that Campbell had been charged with several things, including child abuse and destruction of government property. She allegedly tried to erase security tapings of the incident. Spurlock said the unprofessional conduct provides reason for dismissal from employment.

Still images shared by the district’s attorney show the boy being pulled through the hallways. They also show that, once in the principal’s office, Campbell and Marlar held the boy up by the beltloops on his pants.

After leaving the office, the pair continued to drag the boy by his wrists and arms. In total, the boy was dragged 570 feet, roughly the length of two football fields, and his shirt was “riding up in the back with his bare skin rubbing up against the floor.”

Kate Kasuboski, the coordinator of special education for Rutherford County, noted that there was no evidence of any “behavior that constitutes an emergency situation” that would have required restraint. She also stated that “dragging a student” for “almost two football fields” is “not a proper restraint.”

School board member Tammy Sharp spoke out in favor of Campbell, stating that she is a “phenomenal principal” who should have been given the chance to tell her side of the story at the meeting.

“This is absolutely disgusting that this would be put on TV and Mrs. Campbell would not be given opportunity to defend (herself),” Sharp said.

She continued, “Not one of us on this board have spoken to Miss Campbell. We don’t have the background of the student, we don’t know what his issues were. I think it’s disgusting and I’m sure our teachers that deal with problems like this every day have a chill down their back today and they’re looking for more jobs.”

The vote to terminate was recommended with a vote of 5-2.

About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative  ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career.  Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others.  He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History.  Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com