Dad says teacher hit daughter with pen

RIO RANCHO, N.M. (KRQE) - The father of a Rio Rancho Middle School student says his daughters substitute teacher hit her on the head with a pen.

News 13 spoke with the dad Thursday, he asked not to be identified.

He said the incident happened last Friday during his sixth grader daughter's science class.

"It's disturbing, you send your kids to school and you figure that's one of the safest places to be other than your own home," the father said.

He said the teacher hit her hard enough to make her cry.

"I know you have to have a lot of patience with kids and you do have those bad days and get frustrated but you have to learn how to control yourself if you're around kids that should be something that you have to have control of," said the father.

His daughter told him this teacher was brought in to sub for another teacher, Ken Boyd who was put on paid suspension by the district after he was accused of roughing up kids in the same science class.

"Being that its in the same classroom you would think there would be some kind of changes or something like that just to keep the kids a little more safe but its still happening and its unfortunate," he said.

A spokesperson for Rio Rancho Public Schools told News 13 they are investigating the allegations but she could not say whether the substitute was filling in for Boyd.

Boyd is still on paid suspension while the district investigates his case.

Meanwhile the sub is also banned from the classroom until the district finishes that investigation.