Public discussion about student-staff incident leads Macon Co. Schools to clarify policies

By Brittany Whitehead

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    MACON COUNTY, North Carolina (WLOS) — Macon County Schools released a statement Friday, Jan. 13, regarding the incident last month in which an elementary school employee allegedly taped a student to their desk/chair.

The district’s statement comes in light of what it called “ongoing discussions in public and on social media” about the incident and follow-up investigation.

As News 13 reported Jan. 12, Macon County Schools Superintendent Dr. Chris Baldwin confirmed the incident took place at Iotla Valley Elementary School and that the employee in question was no longer employed with the school district.

Friday’s statement by Macon County Schools starts out by saying its purpose is to clarify the school district’s “policies and practices regarding staff-student interactions.”

It continues, saying:

“MCS does not condone nor tolerate inappropriate behavior from employees, especially toward students. Any allegations of employee conduct that would violate Macon County Board of Education policies are to be brought to the attention of administration and immediately investigated; where such conduct may also violate criminal laws, the matter is immediately referred to local law enforcement for investigation. In the event that allegations are substantiated, the investigation results in appropriate disciplinary consequences, up to and including dismissal. State law and local Board policy authorize suspension of employees during pending investigations, and suspensions are routinely implemented to preserve the educational environment and the investigation process.”

Superintendent Baldwin also released a follow-up statement further addressing the incident, in response to public and social media conversation concerning the school’s environment and the timeliness of when the incident took place versus when parents were told about it.

“Macon County Schools’ employees are expected to maintain professional relationships with students at all times, period,” Baldwin said. “We encourage our parents, students, and the community to share any information involving misconduct. “We understand parents want to know what has occurred on any given day. I can assure you MCS takes all of these situations seriously but without all the facts, it would be irresponsible to put information out prematurely. All parties involved in any allegation deserve nothing less than a thorough investigation and so do our students, parents and staff.”

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