"Vote-out" teacher in Florida may be reinstated

From the Palm Beach Post in Florida:

If St. Lucie County school board members next week approve Wendy Portillo's return to the classroom, she'll likely be teaching students twice as old as the kindergartners she led last year to vote a 5-year-old out of their classroom.

School board officials had suspended Portillo and stripped her of her tenure for the May 2008 incident, in which she asked Alex Barton's (pictured) classmates at Morningside Elementary to vote on whether he should stay in class after he had been disruptive.

Alex was subsequently diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism. His mother, Melissa Barton, sued the school board and Portillo in August, saying the "Survivor-style" vote-out caused Alex irreparable psychological harm.

By then, school officials had restored Portillo's tenure and said she could return to teaching as soon as mid-November.

Portillo's reinstatement is on the agenda for Tuesday's school board meeting, joined with several other personnel matters.

District spokeswoman Janice Karst said board members could approve Portillo's return along with the other items collectively. Or they could take up the matter separately and discuss their decision before they make a final vote.

If they approve her return, Portillo will probably be teaching science and reading to sixth-graders at Allapattah K-8. Karst said Portillo could start as early as Nov. 19.

Superintendent Michael Lannon said in June that he had considered recommending that the board fire Portillo but decided against it. Instead, he recommended that the 12-year veteran be returned to an annual contract and prohibited from teaching young children again.

Melissa Barton says her son is still in therapy over the incident but is now an honor roll student at Jupiter Academy, a private school he began attending this year.