A Tampa, Fla., school district will most likely fire the music teacher who allegedly duct-taped a kindergartner’s eyes shut as a form of punishment.
However, for now, according to the Tampa Bay Times, the Hillsborough County School Board has voted 6-0 this week to suspend Lindsay Blanc, the music teacher in question.
The 29-year-old reportedly earns $42,000 a year and had remained on payroll while working at the district’s Manhattan administrative center, the news site notes. However, since the vote, she has been suspended without pay.
She can try to appeal before the board to keep her job, but the district is still intending to make a move to fire her, the news site reports. According to the Times, the district tried to terminate her by declining to renew her contract. However, the Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association argued that the four-year teaching veteran deserved due process.
According to the report, the incident unfolded in April after a boy got into trouble for talking during music class. The child was sent to the “peace table” for a timeout but kept on turning around to watch a movie with the other children. As punishment, Blanc allegedly taped his eyes so he couldn’t see. Children who witnessed the incident told a parent, who later reported it.
The mother of the boy in question, Monica Vann, told the Times that her child’s behavior has deteriorated since the incident and that he has nightmares and throws tantrums.
The Times reports that local police interviewed other children at the school who described being duct-taped by Blanc as punishment. Blanc allegedly threatened children who wouldn’t behave that she would have “a white van” take them away. She also reportedly showed students the tape, telling them that they would “get this” if they did not behave.
A school district investigative report noted that the principal, Krystal Carson, had warned Blanc in the past about touching students.
Read more at the Tampa Bay Times.