Durham school official charged in alleged child-abuse case is fired from district
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- Ayesha Hunter, a Durham Public Schools administrator, was terminated from her role.
- Her termination comes weeks after she was charged in a child abuse case.
- Hunter was suspended with pay from the school district following the charges.
A second administrator involved in an alleged child-abuse case at a Durham elementary school no longer works for the school district, a Durham Public Schools spokesperson confirmed Wednesday.
As of Feb. 9, Ayesha Hunter, the senior executive director of Employee Relations, has been terminated from DPS. It comes a year after the Durham County District Attorney’s Office began investigating a 2024 incident in which a student with autism was tied to a chair at Eno Valley Elementary School.
Last month, Hunter was charged with two counts of perjury and six counts of obstructing justice by lying under oath, withholding evidence about the incident and giving false statements during court. She was one of three school administrators facing felony charges who were suspended with pay by the school district.
So far, Hunter is the only administrator to be fired from her role. The Board of Education voted to approve her personnel report that changed her employment status from suspended to terminated at a Monday night meeting.
Tanya Giovanni, a deputy superintendent, who is charged with five counts of obstructing justice, is still suspended with pay. Tounya Wright, Eno Valley’s principal, resigned effective Jan. 31. . She is charged with three counts of obstructing justice and one count of perjury.
Superintendent Anthony Lewis has said the school system is conducting an independent investigation with the help of a Raleigh law firm and that all staff are being required to be retrained on responding to and reporting suspected incidents of child abuse.
According to court records, Hunter, Wright and Giovanni are expected to be back in Durham County Superior Court on March 4.
This story was originally published February 11, 2026 at 5:28 PM with the headline "Durham school official charged in alleged child-abuse case is fired from district."