Palmetto Elementary principal removed amid charge she abused disabled student

The principal at Palmetto Elementary School has been removed from the school as authorities investigate an allegation that she “thrust” a disabled student out of a chair and onto the floor.

The Palmetto Police Department concluded its investigation of the Nov. 1 incident as unfounded, but child protection investigators still had concerns about the incident, according to Chief of Police Scott Tyler. In Manatee County, child welfare cases are investigated by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Child Protection Section on behalf of the Florida Department of Children and Families.

The investigating officer concluded the boy had not been abused and the alleged battery did not take place, according to a police incident report. Sheriff’s office spokesman Randy Warren was unable to confirm the status of the child protection investigation on Wednesday before deadline.

The school district also concluded its internal investigation into principal Michelle Mealor’s conduct. However, per Florida Statute 1012.31, the document will remain sealed for 10 days after the principal is notified.

“Once statutory guidelines permit, all permissible documents pertaining to this case will be made public,” district spokesman Mike Barber said in an email.

He said Mealor was immediately placed on administrative leave and removed from contact with students during the external and internal investigations. As of Wednesday, the director of district support, Frank Pistella, was working alongside Assistant Principal Melissa Porco at Palmetto Elementary.

Pistella previously worked as the principal of Palm View Elementary and Kinnan Elementary School, according to Barber’s email.

Alleged child abuse at school reported to hotline

On Nov. 4, the incident was called into the Florida Department of Children and Families child abuse hotline and a child abuse investigator, a police officer and the school district’s investigator visited the school.

Sometime between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Nov. 1, Mealor and other staff were called to the boy’s classroom to assist in calming him down, according to the police incident report. The boy had become upset and began flipping over chairs and a desk.

Staff surrounded the boy, according to the report, and Mealor told him to pick up the desk and chairs. Instead the boy sat down in a chair.

“Mealor then walked over to the chair and thrusts (the boy) out of the chair causing him to strike his head on a cabinet. (The boy) lay on the floor crying while staff was standing around laughing,” police reported, citing the child abuse hotline intake.

Investigators first spoke with the boy and later with three of the staffers, including Mealor. A fourth staff member was not questioned because she had resigned on the same day as the incident, police said.

Witness: Principal ‘thrust’ boy from chair

Several employees confirmed that Mealor tilted the back of the boy’s chair in an attempt to make him stand up, which actually sent him to the floor, but their accounts differ from that of another witness, who said that Mealor “thrust” the boy from his chair, knocking his head into a cabinet.

“She said it was the worst thing she has seen,” the report states.

However, two employees and the principal said the boy fell onto an overturned desk, and they disputed reports that he cried or slammed his head.

In an interview with authorities, the boy “said he was not hurt and he feels safe at school and likes the staff,” police reported.

“We look to see if (redacted) had any bruises and there was no bruising,” they continued. “He said he did not hit his head when the chair was turned over.”

Mealor was named principal at the school in June 2014, coming from Seminole County where she was an assistant principal at Stenstrom Elementary from 2012-2014.

After an inquiry on Wednesday evening, Barber could not immediately confirm the positions of those listed in the report, or whether all the witnesses were employees of the school.

This story was originally published December 4, 2019 at 5:59 PM with the headline "Palmetto Elementary principal removed amid charge she abused disabled student."