Chester Police say they have cell phone video of the incident and are now trying to enhance it to determine who threw the first punch and if any criminal charges will be filed.
"She said I called her a name and she mugged me," said teacher Leslye Jordan, who has been at Chester High School for two years.
She said Wanda Mann, the school board president, came to her classroom on Wednesday demanding to speak to her about a critical letter Jordan had written to the superintendent.
Jordan says the discussion turned into a shouting match and, when she tried to leave, Mann slugged her in the face.
"I tried to walk away to get someone to witness the way she was acting because I've known in the past that you don't want to be in a room with someone by yourself," said Jordan.
The fight spilled out into the hallway in front of startled students. Jordan has been treated for cuts to her face and a banged up elbow.
Mann has told investigators that Jordan threw the first punch. Action News tried to ask her about it outside her home in Chester, but she walked past our crew with no comment.
Chester police are accustomed to breaking up fights at the high school as they did on Thursday afternoon at dismissal time. However, a fist fight between a teacher and school administrator is unheard of.
Jordan says she's just sorry the kids had to witness it.
"I try to act professional and I do want the kids to take away that I did try to walk away from it and they did see my try to walk away from it but, unfortunately, it ended up the way it was," she said.
The school district said it can't comment until police complete their investigation because this is now a personnel matter.
While the school district has a "zero tolerance" policy for fighting among students, so far, no one has been disciplined for this fight.
