RUMFORD — A 15-year-old Dirigo High School boy charged with biting the principal’s arm was expelled from school by a nearly unanimous vote of the Regional School Unit 10 board Monday night.

Dixfield board member Bruce Ross abstained from the vote.

The expulsion followed a nearly hourlong closed session attended by board members, the boy, his mother, Kandice Child, 37, of Rumford, Superintendent Tom Ward, Dirigo High School Principal Michael Poulin and Assistant Principal Christopher Moreau.

The incident took place Sept. 10 at in the principal’s office after Poulin called police because the boy was caught with a backpack containing marijuana, according to the police affidavit.

The boy’s mother was called to the school. The boy tried to take the backpack from Poulin and was pushed to the floor. As Dixfield police Chief Richard Pickett pulled the student off Poulin and handcuffed him, the boy bit Poulin’s right arm, according to the affidavit. Poulin was later checked out at a local health care center.

While Poulin and Pickett struggled with the boy, Child grabbed the backpack and ran outside, according to Pickett’s affidavit. She returned to the school office with the backpack and a partially filled bag of marijuana. Pickett had written in his affidavit that the backpack had contained three baggies of marijuana.

The boy was charged with assault and possession of a usable amount of marijuana. Child was charged with obstructing government administration and falsifying physical evidence. She was later arraigned, pleaded guilty and sentenced to seven days in Oxford County Jail in Paris.

The boy was immediately suspended from school until Sept. 26 when the a decision on the expulsion was expected from the board.

Each individual student expulsion case is subject to specific conditions prior to the student being allowed to petition for re-entry. None of the conditions were disclosed Monday night.