LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA) — A Lakeland woman was arrested Wednesday after deputies said she disrupted classes at an elementary school.
Deputies said 39-year-old Mechelle Smith arrived at Medulla Elementary School around 11 a.m. and was yelling and cursing at school staff.
Smith was asked to calm down and stop cursing as there were several students nearby, officials said.
The sheriff’s office said Smith was upset because her child had received discipline referrals from a teacher and wanted her child removed from the teacher’s classroom.
Deputies said a school administrator heard the disruption and approached Smith. Smith demanded that her child be placed in another class.
The administrator then told Smith to calm down and said they would arrange a meeting to discuss the child’s behavior and the potential to be placed in another class.
The sheriff’s office said Smith told the administrator that she was there to pick up her child and walked past school staff and toward the classrooms.
Smith continued to yell at the school administrator when she followed her, deputies said.
The sheriff’s office said Smith pushed the school administrator and attempted to open a set of locked hallway doors.
Smith realized she couldn’t open the doors and left the school building. Deputies said she jumped over a gate to flee from the school. She eventually called deputies and told them she was at a CVS and would wait for them.
“There is a right way and a wrong way to present concerns to school administration. This is an example of how to go about it the wrong way. Our teachers already have the difficult task of educating our children, and we will never allow anyone to come on our school campuses in this manner, assaulting staff and disrupting classes. That conduct is a guaranteed trip to the county jail.” Sheriff Grady Judd said.
Smith was taken to the Polk County Jail. She was later released after paying a $1,500 bond.
She was charged with battery on a school employee, disrupting a school function and trespassing on school grounds.
