St. Lucie school officials interview Alex Barton

St. Lucie school officials interview Alex Barton

Alex Barton told St. Lucie County School District officials Tuesday about the day his teacher asked kindergarten classmates to vote whether he stayed in the classroom.

Alex’s mother, Melissa Barton, said Alex, 5, was asked to give a statement to the district’s human resources department and an attorney representing the district as part of the district’s internal investigation of the issue.

“He did a really good job,” she said. “He gave an excellent statement. His memory is amazing.”

Acccording to police reports, Morningside Elementary teacher Wendy Portillo brought Alex to the front of the classroom last month and asked other students to tell him how his behavior affected them. Alex, who was in the process of being diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at the time, had left the class twice that day on discipline referrals. After classmates talked, Portillo then asked the class to vote on whether Alex should stay in the class.

Alex lost the vote, 14 to 2.