The principal at a high school in Knoxville, Tennessee has decided to rescind a suspension given to senior Carson Koller after Koller made the mistake of purchasing an extra chicken nugget in the school cafeteria.
Koller, an Eagle Scout and the captain of the drum line at Farragut High School, received the one-day suspension on Monday because he took six chicken nuggets — instead of the customary five nuggets — and then duly paid for the sixth nugget.
The Daily Caller is not making this up.
The reason for Koller’s suspension was theft of property, reports the Knoxville News Sentinel.
“My Eagle Scout, Captain of the drumline, all-around hardworking and well-rounded teenager just got suspended from a day of school (and after school band practice) for taking an extra chicken nugget from the lunch line,” Koller’s mother, Carrie Koller Waller, wrote in a righteously angry Facebook post on Monday afternoon.
“I almost don’t have words here,” the mad mom vented. “Does my son really deserve suspension over hunger, especially when they have the ability to charge his lunch account for the items (which they did!!!!)? How is it theft if he paid for it??? It’s food.”
Koller Waller noted that her son would henceforth be known as “a nugget bandit” and wondered if the suspension would become an issue on her son’s permanent academic record.
The story has a happy ending — as far as interactions with America’s taxpayer-funded school officials tend to go.
By Tuesday morning, Koller Waller had sent a letter to multiple school administrators and had spoken to Farragut High principal Ryan Siebe on the phone.
“I know it wasn’t your intent to overcharge Carson and I know it was not my son’s intent to steal an extra nugget from you,” Waller wrote in the letter, presumably with a totally straight face, according to the News Sentinel.
“He was hungry. He took six total nuggets,” Koller Waller actually had to explain a letter to government officials. “He entered his number, and the cashier rang him up. The cashier then realized Carson had more food than what she calculated. He entered his number again and paid the additional charge. Everything on his tray was paid for prior to walking away. He was then asked for his name and told to sit in another area and speak to the principal.”
Waller was able to show visual evidence that cafeteria workers charged her son, Carson, three times for his fateful chicken nugget lunch. One charge was an “extra lunch” charge of $2.75. Another charge $2.50 for an ordinary lunch. The third charge — which is kind of mysterious — was also for $2.75.
After Koller Waller talked to Siebe, the principal, Siebe agreed to overturn the suspension.
“Principal Siebe addressed my letter promptly and, after additional investigation, quickly lifted Carson’s suspension,” Koller Waller wrote in an update to her original Facebook post. “Honestly, I appreciate the way Siebe handled this. He was very willing to review the situation and make things right. Carson only missed part of his first class today.”
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