Principal Loses Pay In School Sex Scandal

The principal of a school where nine unsupervised fourth-graders engaged in sexual activity was suspended without pay Friday for the remainder of the school year.

The teacher in charge of the students, Charles Mayo, was expected to face a similar penalty.

Ronald Parker, the principal at Martha H. Winston Educational Center, has been under fire since the April 7 incident was first reported. House Speaker Newt Gingrich complained that Parker downplayed the matter and demanded that the principal be fired.

Mayor Marion Barry suggested that only the teacher be fired.

Mayo was in charge of 34 students the day of the incident, nine more than allowed by the teacher contract.

Three students were sent into a “timeout” room for disruptive behavior. Six others went in after them.

What led to the sexual activity is still under investigation.