Documents obtained by The Sentinel-Record show that Kendall Desmond McDaniel, a Cutter Morning Star employee who was arrested in December, had a prior felony record, but CMS Superintendent Nancy Anderson said Wednesday that his hire was made within the bounds of the law.
McDaniel, 45, was arrested on a felony sexual assault charge after allegedly having sexual contact with a juvenile female student at the school in October.
Already a convicted felon, having been charged with felony robbery in 1997, he was provisionally hired by the school board in June 2021 as a special education paraprofessional.
Arkansas education code 6-17-414 lists robbery as a disqualifier for employment in a nonlicensed position, but states that the applicant can request a waiver from the school board.
Anderson said Wednesday that the Cutter Morning Star School Board granted a waiver for his hiring at a June 8, 2021, special meeting. According to the meeting's minutes, the motion carried 5-0.
After the alleged incident at the school, Anderson said McDaniel was asked to leave campus within 15 minutes of the allegation, and he has not been on campus without permission.
While he is on administrative leave, Anderson said she could not say if McDaniel was still technically employed by the district or not. He did list himself as unemployed at the time of his arrest, in which his bond was set at $150,000.
His criminal background, she said, had nothing to do with the welfare of children, or "anything that...
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