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Teacher Resigns After Knife Incident

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By LINNEA BROWN

Hernando Today

Published: June 6, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - The Hernando County School District is serious about its "no tolerance" policy for weapons.

That much became obvious last month after a teacher at J.D. Floyd K-8 in Spring Hill bought a decorative Japanese dagger for a student during a trip to Epcot in Orlando, prompting officials to launch an investigation. The teacher resigned two days later.

The incident occurred May 13, following an eighth-grade class trip to Epcot in which a student asked technology teacher Kelly Streeton to buy a decorative knife for him if he paid for it, since the item required adult consent.

According to documents obtained by Hernando Today, Streeton asked him if it would be OK with his parents, and he said yes.

"I was just trying to be kind to the student, that's all," she wrote in a May 14 incident report.

As per Epcot policy, the knife could not be carried out of the park, so it was mailed to Streeton's home. Upon arrival, she brought it to school in a box, and allowed the student to show the knife to the class before locking it in a cabinet for the rest of the day.

She also told the other students to keep the souvenir a secret, but said she was just trying to protect the student.

"Since the parents were aware of the purchase and the gift would be in my locked cabinet all day, I did not think I had done anything wrong," she wrote in a statement the next day. "Telling my students not to spread rumors about a knife was not to be sneaky, but merely to keep the kids from gossiping and making up stories."

At the end of the day, the student picked up the box and took the knife home. Because of the knife, he rode home with his mother instead of riding the bus.

When administrators learned of the incident from another teacher, they immediately launched an investigation. According to the school board's policy manual, unauthorized use or display of weapons at school would be considered a Group III offense, or grounds for dismissal.

But Streeton, a relatively new teacher, said she never considered the knife to be a weapon.

"When I was asked to help a student get a decorative Japanese knife with a stand, I never once thought that this could be a weapon," Streeton wrote. "After only two years of teaching, I have not had any dealings with weapons, and did not realize how this could be misconstrued. In my mind, this gift would be displayed in a shelf to look at, and was intended to be a simply gift the student had to remember the trip."

The student's mother said she did not mind the purchase because her son collects knives, according to an incident report.

Barbara Kidder, director of labor relations and professional standards for the district, said officials could not complete their investigation because Streeton resigned May 15.

Streeton could not be reached for comment, as her phone number was not listed in the district's staff directory or phone book.

However, she was sincerely apologetic in her final written statement.

"Please know I would have never knowingly done anything to risk the safety of my students or risk destroying my teaching career," Streeton wrote.

She added that, if she could go back, she would never have allowed the student to make the purchase.

"I would have said no, and we wouldn't be here today," she wrote.

At press time, administrators at J.D. Floyd had not returned a request for comment.

Reporter Linnea Brown can be reached at 352-544-5289 or lbrown@hernandotoday.com.

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