GREENVILLE, Ga. - An assistant principal who paddled an elementary school student will not be indicted, a Meriwether County grand jury has decided.

Anthony Crawford, 41, could have been charged with cruelty to children for the Jan. 21 incident at Mountain View Elementary.

Instead, the grand jury suggested the school board review its paddling policy and require that a parent be present whenever a child is paddled at school.

Superintendent Robert Hawk said the grand jury's recommendation for parental presence at paddlings would probably mean an end to corporal punishment.

"If you have the parent come in, then obviously they should handle the punishment," Hawk said. "We're not tied to a corporal punishment policy."

The school board will review the matter at its next meeting. Hawk noted that parents are already notified when a student is to be paddled and that the school principal has to approve it.

"The principal is the final determinant whether corporal punishment is administered," he said. "I doubt he would sanction it in the future. It's not worth the possibilities."