Teacher guilty of slapping student

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DILWORTH - Clay County Commissioner Jerry Waller has pleaded guilty to a charge of fifth-degree assault for slapping a student in May.

The charge will be dismissed after one year and there will be no conviction if Waller has no similar offenses, according to a plea petition and order filed in Clay County District Court.

As part of the order, Waller agreed to pay court costs of $400.

Waller, who teaches industrial technology at Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton High School, remains on the staff, said Superintendent Randy Bruer.

Bruer said a deficiency letter was placed in Waller’s file and information about the incident was sent to the Minnesota Department of Education.

A spokeswoman for the state agency said that at this point no disciplinary action has been taken.

Waller said Wednesday that with state education officials apparently still pondering his situation he did not want to comment on the court case.

Waller hit a 16-year-old student in the face with an open hand after the boy laughed at him in class, according to court documents.

The boy told investigators the slap hurt and was hard enough to cause him to turn his head.

Waller told police a student made a derogatory comment about women and he reacted to that comment, not to students laughing at him, the court documents said.

Waller, of Glyndon, has been on the County Commission since 1997 and is running unopposed for re-election in November.

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