Palm Coast, FL - A teacher at Buddy Taylor Middle School in Palm Coast is charged with battery against a 14-year-old student. Flagler County Sheriff's deputies arrested 47-year-old Jeffrey Paffumi today (January 8).
The student said Paffumi physically removed him from his chair and carried him out into the hallway on Tuesday (Janaury 7) and pushed him. The teen reported the incident to his parents . The parents alerted school administrators this morning.
Another student captured video of the incident which shows Paffumi grabbed the student with his right arm and lifted him out of his chair. The teacher then hooks the student’s left arm with his left arm, lifts him off his feet and carries him across the classroom. Paffumi pushes
the student through the doorway and then shoves him down the hall.
“As a teacher you have to control your temper even when students test you,” Sheriff Rick Staly said.
“This is an unfortunate incident involving a teacher and a student. My daughter is a school teacher and
I know from her how misbehaved some students can be but as a teacher you must deal with it appropriately. Corporal punishment like the old days is not allowed today.”
When he learned of the incident, Flagler Schools Superintendent James Tager said, “The actions of this teacher are not consistent with how we expect our educators to act and behave and it will not be tolerated. We immediately removed Mr. Paffumi from the classroom following the incident and placed him on leave pending an investigation. I have stressed to my executive team the importance of handling this investigation with the utmost seriousness it deserves. I also understand a video shows only a portion of a particular incident, so this investigation will encompass the incident in totality and not just what was captured on a camera.”
Paffumi is charged with Battery and is being held on no bond.
