Board votes to fire Texas teacher accused of hitting student

BEAUMONT, Texas - (AP) -- A Southeast Texas school board has voted to fire a high school teacher who was arrested on an assault charge after a video surfaced that the district says shows her repeatedly striking a student in her class.

KFDM-TV (http://bit.ly/22Mf1Dg) reports the Beaumont school district board voted Tuesday to accept its superintendent's recommendation and terminate Mary Hastings as a geometry teacher at Ozen High School.

The cellphone video went viral earlier this month, showing a woman sweeping papers from the top of the student's desk, slapping him five times and scolding him for being a disruption.

The Beaumont school district had placed the 63-year-old teacher on leave at the time of her arrest on a misdemeanor assault charge April 8. She remains free on $2,500 bond.

A phone listing for her couldn't be found.

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