A high school student was suspended for buying an extra chicken nugget for lunch at school.
Carson Koller, a senior at Farragut High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, was suspended for allegedly stealing a chicken nugget from the school cafeteria, reports the Knoxville News Sentinel. He reportedly took six pieces of chicken nuggets instead of the usual five.
Koller said the lunch amounts are portioned, but because he was hungry he took a chicken nugget from another portion, and put it in his, WATE reported. Upon leaving the lunch line, he was taken to the principal, and was suspended.
The principal, Ryan Siebe, said he will be suspended for a day for "theft of property." Nervous, Koller didn't mention that he actually paid extra for the chicken nugget.
"It's honestly kind of funny. It was partially on me, kind of mostly on me. At the same time it was like, 'Really, you couldn't have just given me a warning?'" said Koller.
His mother, Carrie Koller Waller, was outraged at the suspension.
"How is it theft if he paid for it? Waller wrote in a Facebook post. "It's food. FOOD!!! Not weapons. Not drugs. Not alcohol. Not cheating on a test."
In a letter sent to school administrators and also posted on Facebook, Waller explained how it happened. "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," she wrote. "He was hungry. He took six total nuggets. He entered his number, and the cashier rang him up,"
Waller explained that Koller paid for his meal, but when the cashier realized that he had more food than what she calculated, he was charged again. According to a screenshot Waller posted on Facebook, Koller was charged three times for a total of $8: one extra lunch charge of $2.75, one entrée lunch charge of $2.50, and another charge worth $2.75.
Waller called Siebe to discuss the matter. After reviewing the case, Siebe then revoked Koller's suspension. Details about Siebe's investigation of the case were not disclosed by the school.
Waller, in response to Siebe's revoking of the suspension, posted on Facebook how she was pleased at what the principal did to correct the situation. She also said that Koller only missed "part of his class."
