The mother of a second-grade student in Baltimore, Md. has filed a lawsuit claiming that her son's teacher at Gwynn Falls Elementary School assaulted him and stole his lunch money.
Lynsai Green, the 7-year-old boy's mother, reportedly learned of the money grab when the boy told her "that the 'cafeteria lady' told him to bring to school the money that he owed her for lunch that week," the Courthouse News Service reports. But Green says her son receives reduced-price lunches for $0.40, which she always gave him enough money to pay for.
Green claims that the teacher, Marcelius Lockes, took money from her son and another student to buy herself soda. Lockes also allegedly told the special education student he owes her a quarter every time he "acts up" in class and physically disciplined by pulling on his ears.
Green's son said Lockes pushed and "jacks us up around our neck by our clothes," according to the Courthouse News Service. The complaint also states that the teacher "has referred to herself as being a 'She-Ra' or that the 'devil' was coming out of her during her discipline of the children."
The complaint lists Lockes, the Baltimore School Board, the mayor and City County as defendants in the $1 million suit, according to the complaint. Green seeks damages for negligence, intentional inflection of emotional distress and assault and battery, among others.
A similar conflict surfaced in New York nearly two years ago when an Auburn teacher admitted to using students' charge cards to buy himself lunches. The authorities were notified when parents noticed extra charges on their children's cards.
In January, another New York educator, Liza Cruz Diaz, was removed from her position as principal of Public School 31 in the Bronx for stealing $5,000 from the school, in part to pay for her daughter's "Sweet 16."
Diaz was reassigned to administrative duty, though some lobbied for her termination despite her tenured status.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article, following a New York Daily News report, understated the figure being sought in the lawsuit.