***READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED***
Posts about real school tragedy, crime and/or events can be upsetting.
BLOG POST #187: This week, I’m sharing research on a specific crime involving a high school custodian.
Someone had scrawled a threatening message on the wall of a boys’ bathroom. A student reported the graffiti—sending the school into a lock down for the second day in a row.
Two days with back-to-back bomb threats at the high school put everyone on edge. The sheriff vowed to find who’d made the threats and seek justice.
Not a lot of teaching can take place when the entire school population must be evacuated and relocated to an off-campus location while bomb squads and K-9 units search a school. And it takes many hours to conduct the search.
The authorities arrested the 50-something school custodian who’d been an employee with the school district for 12 years.
Dumb Stunt
She pleaded guilty to filing a false report, a felony. Her motive? She was angry with her boss—the school principal. So, scribble something inappropriate about your boss on the bathroom wall, get arrested, charged with a felony, toss away your salary, future contributions to your retirement—for what? [scratching head]
Because she had no prior criminal record and no longer worked for the school district, the judge sentenced her to 90 days of house arrest and 3 years of probation.
What are your thoughts about this case? Join the conversation on the website. We talk about the sensitive subject of crimes occurring at or connected to schools. Your relevant comments are always welcome on the Research Blog.
Do you know of a school crime you’d like to share? Email me so we can discuss the details.
Thanks for reading!
-Robin
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BLOG POST #175: This week, I’m sharing research on a specific crime involving a school business manager who embezzled $1.6 million.
On the heels of Black Friday—the biggest shopping/spending day of the year—I thought school employee extortion, and bribery might be fitting.
Have you heard the term ‘Pass the Trash?’ I know of the practice, I didn’t know there was a name for it. In a nutshell, you have an employee whose work performance is substandard for whatever reason, they’re given the choice to resign or be fired. If they resign, their substandard job performance is withheld when the next employer checks references – due to ‘confidentiality’ requirements.