Ohio school principal forces student to eat waffles she threw in garbage in SHOCKING video
A shocking video has captured the moment when a nine-year-old girl was forced to eat from a bin after she threw out unwanted food at the school cafeteria.
Surveillance footage from the December incident showed Palm Elementary School Principal Debra Pustulka and paraprofessional Monika Sommers-Fridenstine noticing how the student threw waffles in the trash during lunch. Sommers-Fridenstine subsequently retrieved the discarded food item, wiped it off, and brought it back to the girl's table. A lawsuit filed by the girl's family has alleged that Pustukla forced her to eat the waffles from the bin despite their ward not liking them. The girl is seen on camera speaking to Sommers-Fridenstine several times while her classmates laugh at her, WKYC reported.
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The 9-year-old student's family filed a lawsuit against the Lorain Board of Education and Sommers-Fridenstine following the incident. LaTosha Williams said her daughter fell ill after consuming the waffles and she lost her job as she had to take care of her daughter at home. Lorain City School released the disturbing footage after Williams complained to the officials, saying her daughter had "changed" and was scared to go back to school. "It literally flipped my whole family upside down," she told 19 News. "She has changed at home. She doesn't act the same. She doesn't even want to go to school." Jared Klebanow, an attorney representing the girl’s family, said the video is "shocking, it’s disheartening, it’s disturbing, and it’s what this child has been saying since the beginning,”
The Lorain City School District admitted that the headteacher had received Williams' complaint but did not act on it. They announced in mid-December that Pustulka and Sommers-Fridenstine had been fired from their respective positions. "Lorain Schools have released surveillance video showing a lunch monitor pull unwanted food out of a garbage can, wipe it off, and force the student who threw it away to eat it," Cleveland19 News anchor Jim Nelson confirmed in a tweet. "She and the principal were fired."
"Any infringement upon the dignity and respect of our students will not be tolerated," Jeff Graham, superintendent of Lorain City Schools, said in a statement. "Our students deserve staff members who are able to make good decisions in all situations — and any staff member who is unable to deliver on that promise is unwelcome in our schools."
NEW VIDEO: Lorain Schools have released surveillance video showing a lunch monitor pull unwanted food out of a garbage can, wipe it off, and force the student who threw it away to eat it. She and the principal were fired. Here's a quick clip with comments from the family's lawyer pic.twitter.com/GAwRl9MIg3
— Jim Nelson (@JimNelsonTV) January 19, 2022
Lorain City Schools said it's working towards appointing a new principal who would "provide the leadership, heart, and judgment we expect for our schools".
“We have phenomenal people doing great work in our schools each and every day,” Graham added. “This incident in no way demonstrates who we are as a district, and we will not let the actions of two people define us when there are so many wonderful things happening in our classrooms, schools, and community.” In the meantime, veteran educator Julie Colaizzi has been appointed as the interim principal of Loraine City Schools.
According to the lawsuit filed by the family, the student's rights were violated and she underwent mental health treatment in the weeks following the ordeal. It seeks unspecified monetary damages, an admission of wrongdoing, as well as the implementation of policies that prevent such incidents from recurring.