Many wish him well despite assault arrest

Former principal Chuck Mills

MILTON - Many parents and community members continue to support former Milton Elementary School Principal Chuck Mills, while acknowledging his recent arrest in the assault of a student shows that the alleged incident in the school lunchroom probably was handled inappropriately.

Stefanie Berry, a parent who had been active in the movement to make the former interim principal the permanent principal, said in an email on Thursday that despite the arrest, she still wishes him well in his career and life. 

“There continues to be many parents and community members that support Mr. Mills and the work that he was doing in the school and in the community,” Berry wrote. “We wish nothing but the best for Mr. Mills and hope that he can continue to do good work for children, education and communities. It would appear that the situation in question was not handled appropriately however Mr. Mills was notoriously known for his positive attitude, his kindness to the students, his fairness in dealing with behavioral issues and the importance he put on building relationships and communicating in a positive manner.”

Mills, last year’s interim principal at MES, faces a court date later this month in connection with an alleged assault in May on a male student whom he “dope slapped” in the cafeteria after the student failed to quiet down after a signal given by Mills. It was alleged that the student’s head hit the wall after Mills slapped it.

Mills, 53, of Henniker, and named as "Charles" in an arrest affidavit, is charged with simple assault, a Class B misdemeanor.

According to the affidavit, he admitted to “dope slapping” the child, but didn’t mean to hurt him.

The former principal had formerly been lauded for his outreach to the community and his anti-bullying efforts at the school this past year.

Mills, the affidavit states, had made the “silent star” signal prior to the incident, a sign that asks all students to be quiet, but the student who was hit had his back to Mills and didn’t see the signal.

A paraprofessional witnessed the incident as well as at least one other student who said they could hear the impact of Mills’ hand on the first student’s skull.

A dope slap is defined in urbandictionary.com as “a light 'whappp' to the back of the head, done with an open palm in an upward motion.”

Mills  abruptly resigned last month.

Even as some still feel Mills might have been a good permanent replacement, they are ready to embrace new principal Doug Kilmister, who has said he will continue the outreach programs Mills helped develop.

“Many parents are pleased to know that the new principal, Mr. Killmister has agreed to continue certain works started by Mr. Mills. Parents are hopeful that with a new superintendent and a new principal, Milton can continue moving in a positive direction, which was always the goal Mr. Mills had for the Milton community,” Berry said.

Newly installed SAU #64 Schools Chief Michael Tursi has said he could not comment on the matter.

Messages sent to Mills’ personal email account have not been returned.