Ken Fells remains an employee of the Halifax Regional School Board but is no longer principal of Graham Creighton Junior High School. (CBC file)Ken Fells is no longer principal of the junior high school in Cherry Brook after an altercation with a student, but he still has a job with the Halifax Regional School Board.

Board members reached a decision early Thursday following a marathon debate.

As the meeting began in private Wednesday evening, more than 200 of Fells' supporters stood in the wind and rain outside the school board building in Dartmouth.

About a dozen people were still there at 2 a.m. when board chair Irvine Carvery announced that Fells is no longer principal of Graham Creighton Junior High School.

However, Fells remains a principal in the school system.

Carvery said he believes Fells was treated fairly.

"I feel good about it," he said. "Folks were here for eight hours to show their support for Mr. Fells. Speaks very highly of how Mr. Fells is considered in the community.

Fells' supporters rally outside the school board meeting. (CBC)"Me personally, I'm very pleased to see that Mr. Fells stays with us."

Fells was suspended after an incident with a student over a cellphone on March 3. The RCMP was called in, but no charges were laid.

The Black Educators Association rallied around Fells, calling him a great principal who insists on order and respect in his schools.

According to the group, Fells demanded that a boy turn over his cellphone because he was taking inappropriate photos of a girl. The boy was defiant and became physical.

Private matter

The school board says it's a personnel matter and therefore won't release the details of the altercation that resulted, or of the disciplinary hearing.

"Nine democratically elected school board members heard all of the evidence and we made our decision based on the evidence," the board said in a statement.

Fells is now a principal without a school. It's up to senior board officials to decide what happens next.

"That's not a decision that's made by the elected board. That is a staffing question and that will be determined by the superintendent in conjunction with the manager of human resources," said Carvery.

Fells declined to comment.