VAN BUREN (KFSM) – A Facebook page and petition were started on Thursday (Feb. 19) to support a Van Buren teacher accused of hitting two students.
Denan Cagle, a science teacher at Northridge Middle School, has a warrant out for her arrest on suspicion of misdemeanor third-degree battery, according to court documents filed in Crawford County on Wednesday.
Van Buren police said Jan. 29 they were investigating Cagle following allegations she struck a student on his arm during class. Detectives later forwarded the case to prosecutors, who decided to charge Cagle in connection with the incident. A police incident report was also filed in a separate incident from last November, in which a student and his classmates said Cagle slapped him in the face.
The page is called “Denan Cagle Support Page,” and it was started to “show support” for the science teacher. As of Thursday at 6 p.m., the Facebook page had 156 supporters. A petition has also been started to allow the teacher to keep her job. As of Thursday evening, it had 40 signatures.
Several attempts to contact Cagle through the school district, telephone and email have been unsuccessful. A 5NEWS reporter also went to a home listed as belonging to Cagle in order to get her side of the story. The person who answered said he had never heard of her.
A check of jail records on Thursday night showed that Cagle had not yet been booked into the Crawford County Detention Center.
Cagle has been placed on paid administrative leave following the warrant being issued for her arrest. She has until March to appeal her recommended firing.
