A second-grade teacher in South Florida now faces disciplinary action for losing a little girl during a February field trip to Lion Country Safari, a local drive-through tourist attraction filled with wild animals.
The teacher is Dillan Versai of Nova Blanche Forman Elementary in the sprawling suburb of Davie, Fla., the Sun-Sentinel reports.
Versai, 41, lost the student around lunchtime, according to the school district complaint filed against him. A Lion Country Safari employee later found the girl and delivered her to another teacher. She appeared unhurt and in good spirits.
The total amount of time the girl was lost remains unclear.
The charges against Versai include failure to supervise students properly, incompetency and misconduct in office.
Lion Country Safari — “home of the drive-through safari” — offers a wildlife preserve accessible by car which is full of hundreds of animals including giraffes, zebras and rhinoceroses. One area also contains lions. The lions don’t roam freely for insurance and safety reasons (though they once reportedly did).
There’s also a separate “walk-through safari” and a small amusement park rides.
The food service area is located in this walkable area.
Marc Unterhalter, vice president of Lion Country Safari, assured the Sun-Sentinel that it would be “very difficult” for a lost child to find her way from the “walk-through safari” to the part of the park containing the lions and various other free-roaming creatures.
On Tuesday, the local school board will vote on whether to suspend Versai for 10 days without pay.
Versai has been employed with the district since 2004.
This disciplinary hearing isn’t Versai’s first brush with leaving students by themselves, school records indicate. He has previously received reprimands for leaving little kids unsupervised in a computer lab and for showing up late for work.
Meanwhile, Tripadvisor.com reviews for Lion Country Safari are overwhelmingly positive.
There are “many attraction for all ages,” happy reviewers say. “If you love animals, you’ll love this!”
The smattering of dissatisfied reviewers describe Lion Country Safari as an “overpriced, overrated craphole.” “City people will fall for anything,” claims one.
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