Principal fired after dragging student through hallway of school

By Ryan Breslin and Mary Alice Royse

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    MURFREESBORO, Tennessee (WSMV) — A Rutherford County Principal was fired Thursday after receiving charges for an incident in 2019.

According to a video from 2019 obtained by News4 from police, Walter Hill Elementary principal Helen Campbell and special education teacher Bonnie Marlar dragged the student through the hallway to a classroom.

When the Rutherford County School Board discussed her dismissal, at least two people said the board had not even spoken to Helen Campbell and tried to convince the board that the charges do not warrant dismissal.

Regardless, there were enough votes against her for termination from Walter Hill Elementary.

This is a story that dates back to 2019, when principal Helen Campbell and teacher Bonnie Marlar were under investigation. They were accused of dragging a 10-year-old boy by his feet through the school, injuring his head.

During the board meeting on Thursday night, new images from the incident were shown. One of the district’s special needs student administrators also spoke during the meeting.

“I have seen the video from beginning to end. I did not see any behavior that constitutes emergency behavior, dragging the student from the front to the back of the building to the common room, almost two football fields is not a CPI technique and is not proper restraint.”

Campbell was reportedly terminated and charged with child abuse and tampering with evidence.

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