Michigan School Board President Accused of Choking, Punching Board Member, Removed As Panel Leader

A Michigan school board president has been removed from her position after being accused of choking and punching a fellow board member during a meeting.

Apparently, the incident went down during an otherwise “mundane” gathering Wednesday morning in Flint, board member and treasurer Laura MacIntyre, who was leading a meeting on finance issues stated.

MacIntyre claims she was managing the order of comments from other board members when Danielle Green, now-former Flint Community Schools Board of Education President, allegedly exploded.

“Very, very mundane. So mundane I don’t even remember what it was that set her off,” MacIntyre added.

Green allegedly walked up to MacIntyre’s seat “and got up right above me, towered over me, and started wagging her finger at me,” MacIntyre said.

“And I stood up, in surprise, to step back from her — at which point she grabbed my throat and started choking me,” MacIntyre said. “She grabbed the top of my head and then slammed my head into the table and started punching my head.”

Charis Lee, school board counsel and a district spokeswoman said there was no obvious spark for the attack.

“I was just told it was not provoked by individuals who saw it,” Lee said Thursday.

Later in the day, trustees decided to remove Green as president but not from the board.

There’s no system in place to recall a Flint school board member and only the governor has the power, Lee and MacIntyre continued.

MacIntyre’s physician treated her on Wednesday and she was in concussion protocol Thursday.

“I’m physically in a lot of pain and struggling,” MacIntyre said.

There have been no arrests, however, the incident is being investigated, Flint police Detective-Sgt. Tyrone Booth stated.

“I can’t say that an assault (at a school board meeting) was one that I can recall,” Booth said. “Obviously, there are emotional issues that a school board discusses, and sometimes temperatures and personal temperatures go up a little. But I can’t say that I can recall an assault that’s taken place.”

MacIntyre plans on seeking a restraining order against Green. The two have known each other for years and had no prior friction, MacIntyre said.

“We do not necessarily agree on everything, but we have a working relationship,” MacIntyre said. “There have been disagreements in the past but nothing, nothing to warrant this at all.”