Wake principal suspended over handling of alleged assault by substitute teacher
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Wake County suspends South Lakes principal for three unpaid days over report delay
- District removes substitute, cites rules banning physical contact for redirection
- Parent alleges delayed police notification; investigation found insufficient evidence
A Wake County elementary school principal has been suspended without pay for three days for her handling of allegations that a student was assaulted by a substitute teacher.
Richard Bridgers has repeatedly spoken at Wake County school board meetings since March accusing South Lakes Elementary School of not properly reporting to Fuquay-Varina police his complaint that his son was assaulted by a sub. Bridgers was notified by the Wake County school system last week that Teresa James, the principal of South Lakes, will lose three days pay as a result of a district investigation.
“While the results of a personnel review are confidential, I want to reiterate that the district takes action to address concerns when they are identified, including in the matters that you raised,” Carla Withrow, Wake senior director of employee relations, wrote to Bridgers in an email on Wednesday.
According to Wake, James will serve her suspension on Nov. 26, Dec. 22 and March 30. Those three days are listed on Wake’s calendar as vacation days, meaning schools are closed that day to both students and employees.
In addition, the substitute teacher accused in the incident no longer works for Wake. Withrow told Bridgers that employees should not use physical contact for the purpose of redirecting students or gaining compliance.
The announcement of the suspension came after school board chair Chris Heagarty publicly called out staff at the Oct. 7 board meeting for its handling of Bridgers’ allegations. Heagarty said it was “hard to reconcile” staff’s statements that Bridgers’ comments were not entirely accurate.
Principal: I made a ‘single mistake’
Bridgers claimed a substitute teacher grabbed his son’s shoulder with her nails on Feb. 28 to get him to sit down in class. While it didn’t hurt the second-grader, Bridgers said it made his son feel uncomfortable.
Bridgers said he notified the assistant principal on the date of the incident. Bridgers said he also notified James on March 3, which was her first day as principal of South Lakes.
Under North Carolina law, principals are required to notify law enforcement of crimes that occur on school property. State law also requires mandatory reporting by adults of crimes against juveniles.
James told the district that she notified the school resource officer on March 3. But Bridgers has questioned her account because a district email shows James didn’t file documentation with Fuquay-Varina police until April 9.
“I would like it noted that the suspension was my consequence for the single mistake I made during the investigative process, which was not submitting the electronic report that same day,” James said in an email Monday to The News & Observer. “I fully completed all other components of the process as required.”
Parent not satisfied with district’s investigation
Bridgers has pointed to a police report where the school resource officer said he couldn’t recall James notifying him on March 3. Police also couldn’t find bodycam footage or dashcam video from South Lakes on March 3.
Fuquay-Varina police investigated, but insufficient evidence was found to determine an assault took place, according to a town spokesperson.
Bridgers isn’t satisfied with the district’s handling of the investigation, questioning if students can feel safe at South Lakes. He said Wake needs to do more given the spate of recent arrests of Wake school employees accused of assaulting students in school.
”It’s unacceptable to have a principal who lied to school investigators to cover up child abuse,” Bridgers said in an interview.
This story was originally published October 20, 2025 at 4:33 PM.
