Manatee School Board reinstates employee accused of grabbing, dragging student
The School Board of Manatee County recently voted to keep a longtime district employee despite recommendations from a state agency and former superintendent to fire him.
Verlin “Skip” Wilhoit, a program specialist with the School District of Manatee County, was caught on video last year putting his hands on a student during an altercation in the lunchroom. The report says Wilhoit put the student in a chokehold during the altercation, which Wilhoit disputed.
It’s the latest in a line of disciplinary problems for 57-year-old Wilhoit, who has a history of incidents and reprimands during his career with Manatee County schools, according to state records. They include confrontations with students and coworkers and an investigation into a controversial book he wrote called “The Man Code.”
After the latest incident, the school district moved to fire Wilhoit. When former Superintendent Jason Wysong informed Wilhoit of the decision, he appealed to the state to keep his job. At a hearing in May, a judge with the state’s Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH) sided with the district and recommended Wilhoit be terminated.
But after Wysong’s sudden termination as superintendent in May, school officials are opting to give Wilhoit yet another chance.
Manatee school officials reverse course on firing
On Aug. 15, Interim Superintendent Kevin Chapman recommended Wilhoit’s penalty be reduced from termination to a suspension of 20 days without pay. He also recommended a one-year performance contract contingent on no more disciplinary issues, six hours of “human resources-approved” training and a reassignment to a position that does not involve disciplining students.
“I believe the ... recommended penalty is justified by record evidence showing Dr. Wilhoit’s length of service to the Manatee County School District and his stated desire to continue that employment,” Chapman said at the meeting.
The school board voted 3-2 in favor of keeping Wilhoit with those penalties.
“I deeply appreciate the support of the Superintendent and Board,” Wilhoit said in an email to the Bradenton Herald. “As you might imagine, it has been an extremely difficult situation.”
Lunchroom altercation leads to administrative leave
Wilhoit has worked for the School District of Manatee County for 26 years. At the time of the incident, he was a program specialist with the district’s Safe and Drug-Free School Program in the Dropout Prevention and Alternate Education Department.
Within that role, he rotated between four schools, including Sugg Middle School. The court record states Wilhoit was previously advised by a supervisor that he should not get involved with supervising students “as it distracted him from his assigned duties.”
Wilhoit was supervising a lunch period on Sept. 30, 2024, in the cafeteria when one student, named in the report as “K.Y.,” spit in another student’s food, according to the DOAH record.
The record states that as K.Y. tried to leave the area, Wilhoit followed. Wilhoit told K.Y. the act could be seen as battery if the other student ate the food and tried to explain the severity of the incident.
That’s when K.Y. threw his tray on the floor, leading Wilhoit to put his hands on K.Y.’s arms and push him back two steps, according to the record. The student allegedly pushed Wilhoit’s upper chest, and Wilhoit attempted to restrain K.Y.
Wilhoit tried to spin K.Y. around so they were facing the same direction, then attempted to lift K.Y. off the ground before he “placed his left arm around K.Y.’s neck and, while keeping K.Y. in this chokehold, dragged and/or pulled K.Y. for seven seconds,” the DOAH hearing states.
The student’s mother emailed the school board the next day to complain about Wilhoit’s actions, and the school board placed Wilhoit on paid administrative leave.
Wilhoit denies allegations
In October, the Disciplinary Review Committee recommended Wilhoit be terminated and Wysong advised Wilhoit of the recommendation.
Following Wilhoit’s appeal to DOAH and request for a hearing, Wysong asked the school board to put Wilhoit on unpaid administrative leave.
The school board unanimously voted in January to reject the motion and keep Wilhoid on paid leave while the DOAH hearing commenced.
At the meeting, Wilhoit argued he broke no district policies and disagreed with the accusation that he used “excessive force.”
“I disagree with those terms in the strongest possible way. I was attacked and threatened by a student with an extensive violent history doing the same to school staff and even law enforcement,” he said. “At no time did I use excessive force with this student.”
Further, Wilhoit claimed the allegation, like many of his previous disciplinary issues, were “ridiculous, absurd, false allegations.”
“I find that the superintendent’s recommendation for my termination is nothing more than a malicious and unjustified attempt to finally remove me following a long line of targeted behavior by both himself and the previous superintendent,” Wilhoit said.
Board debates reinstating Wilhoit
After a DOAH judge’s opinion said Wilhoit should be terminated, Wilhoit filed a record disputing the ruling. School Board members considered his argument on Aug. 15 as they considered whether to terminate Wilhoit.
School Board Member Richard Tatem said the board should fire Wilhoit based on his long history of disciplinary issues and official recommendations.
“Multiple supervisors, multiple superintendents, a group of senior leaders within the organization and a DOAH judge have all said this gentleman should not be working at the Manatee County school system anymore,” Tatem said.
Tatem also claimed Wilhoit never showed remorse for previous incidents, and School Board Member Heather Felton agreed Wilhoit’s disciplinary history was concerning.
“Some people have a little manilla folder. He’s the only one with a whole binder,” Felton said.
Board Member Charlie Kennedy spoke in favor of keeping Wilhoit, but agreed some level of discipline was necessary.
“To characterize Dr. Wilhoit as a danger to himself or others, I think, is very unfair,” said Kennedy, who also described Wilhoit’s rebuttal as “compelling.” “I think Dr. Wilhoit could have handled himself better. I just don’t believe it rises to the level of termination.”
School board accepts argument
Wilhoit’s rebuttal included a challenge to the district’s use of Policy 4213 as the basis for termination. The policy outlines standards for the “supervision, control, and protection of students,” and prohibits “abusive” and “inappropriate” contact.
But Wilhoit argued that the policy is too vague and would not apply to the cafeteria incident. He also claimed that the student verbally threatened him during the altercation, a factor he says was omitted from the case.
Further, Wilhoit denied that he put the student in a chokehold. Wilhoit’s rebuttal says he tried to “wrap his arms around K.Y.’s torso in a protective hold.” Wilhoit argued that the difference in height and the student's struggling caused his arm to “slip” near the neck area.
After discussion, the board voted 3-2 to keep Wilhoit employed with the district, with Tatem and Felton dissenting.
Previous disciplinary issues
According to the DOAH case file, Wilhoit had six previous disciplinary infractions with the school district.
The first, in 2000, was the then-principal of Palmetto High School verbally reprimanding Wilhoit for areas of concern like sending students home without approval and “being confrontational with students, controlling students in his class and making unprofessional comments,” the case states.
In 2018, the school district investigated Wilhoit for a book he wrote in 2007 called “The Man Code.”
The Bradenton Herald spoke to Wilhoit at the time of the investigation, and Wilhoit said the book started as a rant to a roommate, which morphed into a book when the roommate challenged him.
“The Man Code” claims to offer guidance for boys, Wilhoit previously told the Herald. In the book, Wilhoit notes infractions of the “man code,” which could range from wearing a Speedo on the beach, “inappropriate man-touching,” owning a small dog or wearing a pink shirt.
While the investigation found that Wilhoit wrote the book on personal time, the district found him in violation of standards of ethical conduct and a Florida Administrative Code Rule due to concerns that the opinions in the book could cross over into his professional career.
Wilhoit received a written reprimand after the investigation.
Two other incidents involved Wilhoit being disciplined due to arguments with coworkers that were “heated” and one in which Wilhoit was “angrily yelling and threatening a fellow employee.”
In 2020, after one of the incidents involving an argument with a coworker, Wilhoit received a five-day suspension without pay and was advised that any further infractions would result in a recommendation for termination.
Then, in 2023, the Florida Department of Education contacted the school district after Wilhoit contacted the department about a student. The school district determined the correspondence was inappropriate and issued Wilhoit a letter of reprimand.
This story was originally published August 22, 2025 at 5:50 AM.
