Demoted principal agrees to pay teacher’s aide $1,000 to end motorcycle dispute

Former Manatee Elementary School Principal Deb Houston and Michelle McCormack, a teacher’s aide at the school, reached a settlement in small claims court over allegations that Houston borrowed, damaged and did not repair the aide’s motorcycle.

According to court documents, Houston agreed to pay McCormack a total of $997.92 in damages.

The school district’s office of professional standards conducted an investigation into the incident last year and reported that Houston borrowed the bike from McCormack in March and returned it to her in May with damage. The report stated that as of Nov. 17, Houston had not paid McCormack for the damage, which Houston said occurred when the bike tipped over while stationary.

The incident led to Houston’s demotion in December, which upset several teachers who spoke in support of her at the Jan. 10 Manatee County School Board meeting.

After Houston’s demotion, Kimberley Organek took over as principal at Manatee. Previously, Organek was the director of the district’s elementary curriculum and professional learning team.

This story was originally published February 21, 2017 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Demoted principal agrees to pay teacher’s aide $1,000 to end motorcycle dispute."