Bessemer City father tells Gaston County school board his daughter reported inappropriate touching; investigation ongoing
Summary
At the Oct. 20 Gaston County Board of Education meeting, parent Aaron Jordan alleged a classroom teacher touched his elementary‑school daughter and used pet names; district administrators have acknowledged an investigation and the family says communication has been uneven.
At the Gaston County Board of Education meeting Oct. 20, Aaron Jordan of Bessemer City told the board his daughter reported a teacher touched her and used pet names, and that he had followed district reporting procedures.
Jordan said his daughter reported the teacher “touched my daughter on the hip” and used nicknames such as “baby girl” and “baby doll,” which, he said, made her uncomfortable. Jordan told the board he reported the concern to school administrators “in accordance with policy 17-25 and 17-26” and described subsequent conversations with the principal and district liaisons about the case.
Jordan said he was told school administrators had conducted interviews and that a county administrator was present when students were interviewed. He said the principal informed him the teacher reported he had only “brushed her hair,” a description Jordan said did not match his daughter’s account. Jordan also said the teacher left on Friday and returned the following Monday on his own, which Jordan said led him and his wife to remove their daughters from PE while the matter remained unresolved.
Jordan told the board he had been told the district considered “half of what was done and said to these children an absolute no‑no” while characterizing other accounts as possible student rumors; Jordan said that characterization by administrators was troubling. He also said the teacher had previously received a complaint earlier in the year about apparent phone use in class.
The board did not take a public vote on the complaint during the meeting. Jordan said he provided documents and contact information to the board at the meeting.
The district did not make a formal statement on the record during the public‑comment period; Jordan described the principal and district staff’s responses as relayed to him. The board later moved to a closed session on personnel and legal consultation under North Carolina General Statute 143‑318.11(a)(3) and (a)(6).
