EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the fifth of eight articles about the termination hearing and ultimate firing of Jann Gibson, principal of Cutter Morning Star Elementary School. The Cutter Morning Star School District held the hearing from 5 p.m. Friday to almost 1:20 a.m. Saturday. Board members voted at the end of the hearing to fire Gibson.
The Cutter Morning Star School Board accepted the claim by the district's administration of child abuse committed by former principal Jann Gibson despite Gibson being cleared of allegations by the Arkansas Department of Human Services.
The Cutter Morning Star School District administration detailed at least one reason for its termination hearing against Gibson on Friday involving child abuse. Superintendent Nancy Anderson and the district's legal representation, Jay Bequette and Cody Kees of the Bequette & Billingsley law firm in Little Rock, argued Friday pictures provided by the parent of a female elementary school student portrayed abuse committed by Gibson.
"I guess my issue, jumping ahead, is DHS said no abuse," Gibson's attorney, Robert Newcomb, said during the questioning of the child's parent.
"You are jumping way ahead," said Sharon Street, who represented the school board.
Street was charged with advising the board members on matters of law and procedure, as well as moderating the hearing as a neutral party. She most often overruled Newcomb and occasionally restricted his questioning, as well as input by those he called to testify.
"Because they are claiming -- the school district is claiming -- that it caused severe bruising, I think that they can put on there that it caused severe bruising, regardless of what DHS did," Street said.
Gibson conducted the paddling of the female elementary school student in early October. A parent of the student approved the corporal punishment and was present in another room as the paddling took place.
The parent repeatedly defended the child as a good kid Friday and reiterated multiple times the student is in the school's Section 504 program, which requires schools to provide children who have disabilities -- such as attention-deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or other diagnoses -- with a free and appropriate public education. The parent reportedly took pictures of bruising on her child and the progression in the days after to document it.
"I was very shocked and I was disturbed, very disturbed," Anderson said. "The bruising was severe, in my opinion."
The administration's attorneys provided copies of the photos to the board and Gibson's attorney. According to sources, the photos do not show the child's face, only bruising on the behind.
The parent said she returned to the school with her own mother and her two older daughters to confront Gibson. The parent said she believed she would have gone to jail if she had punished her daughter in the same manner.
"There's no doubt about it in my mind," the parent said.
According to letters Gibson received from DHS on Nov. 27, the parent filed a report with the Division of Children and Family Services or the Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children Division on Oct. 6. Another parent filed a separate report on the same date for an incident which occurred in April.
The parent of a male student paddled in April claimed a school official previously reported her family to DHS. She filed a report against Kent Wasson, a physical education teacher and coach who carried out the paddling, in April.
Wasson was cleared by DHS several weeks later. Anderson said she did not learn of the initial DHS investigation until August.
The parent of the male student then filed a second report in October against Gibson, who oversaw the paddling conducted by Wasson. Gibson said she learned of the new investigations on Oct. 9 when a DHS official visited the school to interview her.
"Did you inform Dr. Anderson of that?" Newcomb asked on Friday.
"No, sir," Gibson said.
"Why not?" Newcomb asked.
"She knew," Gibson said.
State law prohibits DHS from confirming or denying the existence of maltreatment cases to persons not involved in the cases. The Sentinel-Record follows The Associated Press privacy guidelines and does not identify possible juvenile victims of abuse, or the names of their parents, which could potentially identify them.
Anderson said she suspended Gibson on Oct. 11 after she learned of the cases. Wasson was suspended at the same time, four months after he was cleared by DHS. Anderson testified on Friday she learned of Wasson's investigation in August. He returned to campus in early November.
The parent of the female student and school employees said the child was nervous about receiving the first of two paddlings. First-grade teacher Haley Thornton observed the paddlings conducted by Gibson.
"The child, I think her nerves were just getting the better of her because she was scared," Thornton said. "She did not want to receive the paddling. Finally, I think she braved up and put her hands on the chair and received the first spank. After that, it made her more nervous for the second spank, which is when the mother opened the door."
The parent claimed Gibson was aggravated and physically agitated by the student's refusal to cooperate. Thornton said Gibson said she hated the punishment aspect of her job and gave the student a chance to calm down.
"The first strike was not aggressive, but I can't say that anything Ms. Gibson does is aggressive in that nature," Thornton said. "I think that she swatted her to let her know that was the first swat, but, in my opinion, it was not aggressive, angry."
The parent authorized the corporal punishment and testified on Friday she encouraged the student to take the second paddling to avoid any kind of suspension. The testifiers said a break occurred in between the first and second paddlings in which Gibson was visible to those sitting outside of her office. Anderson included in the reasons to fire Gibson the parent's claim that Gibson was agitated.
"I don't remember her being in a rage," said school nurse Katee Fendley, who was in the area outside of the office with the parent and Pam Jackson, administrative assistant. "I have never seen her in a rage before."
"I think that the second paddle was lighter than the first paddle," Thornton said. "I think that Ms. Gibson did it because she had to do it and, so, she tried to make the second one less hard, which, the first one was not hard either."
Fendley said she was interviewed by DHS, but no one from the Cutter Morning Star administration. Jackson and Thornton said they were also not interviewed by the district.
Both DHS letters to Gibson stated "the allegations were not supported by a preponderance of evidence" and were determined to be "unsubstantiated." Newcomb asked Anderson if she knew of the outcomes.
"To your knowledge, do you know all of the charges of child maltreatment involving Cutter Morning Star teachers or employees have been cleared by DHS and the State Police?" Newcomb asked.
"I have received nothing," Anderson said.
"Have you bothered asking for anything before you had recommended that Mr. -- excuse me -- Ms. Gibson be terminated?"
"Asking for?"
"Any information about the outcome of those investigations of maltreatment?" Newcomb asked.
"No," Anderson replied.
Kees later asked Thornton if Gibson provided her with any financial assistance. Thornton hesitated and said Gibson did not pay any of her bills.
"What was the delay? What is she providing financial assistance for?" Kees asked.
Thornton took more than 20 seconds to collect herself before she explained Gibson began paying her tuition for graduate school more than a year ago. Kees asked if Gibson also helped pay for any house repairs and Thornton said she did not.
"The authorities that the legislature delegated to investigate determined there was nothing," Newcomb said in his closing argument. "The district, the administration is coming in and asking you all to say the legislature is wrong, the State Police or DHS don't know what the heck they are doing.
"And we get partial pictures and a statement from the mother, and we are going to decide DHS and Arkansas State Police are stupid. That's what they are asking you all to do. So, we might as well do away with those agencies and just let school boards do it."
Local on 12/21/2017