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Posted on 06/25/2002 9:04:33 PM PDT by chance33_98
District Says Kids Lied About Teacher Attack
EVERGLADES CITY, June 25, 2002 — The Collier County School District says it believes a group of students made up a story about a substitute teacher attacking them in class.
No one argues that it was a chaotic scene in Lew Stickles’s classroom on May 16th. But whether there was just a lot of yelling going on or whether he also abused kids is disputed.
Several students claimed Stickles, a substitute teacher, threw desks at them when he went berserk at the Everglades City School.
But the district says the kids made up the story to keep themselves from getting into trouble. Officials believe the injuries students displayed to the media were other injuries that the children then attributed to the attack.
In its report, the school district blames two 10th grade girls for igniting the incident. The pair reportedly escorted some of the fifth graders into Stickles classroom after rehearsal for a play.
The report says the two girls repeatedly used profanity at Stickles because he yelled at one of their sisters.
The district has now cleared Stickles of any wrongdoing, but it has removed him as a substitute because he did not adequately manage the classroom.
Parents of the children involved continue to believe their children were the victims in the case, and sources say a lawsuit may result.
"The kids did not lie. Five kids were injured here in one way or another," said parent Rhonda Storey.
Storey admits that one girl did lie the day it all happened. That girl accused Stickles of kicking her and causing a bruise.
"There was one child that lied and made the whole case look bad – our kids are not lying, my child has not lied about the situation that happened," Storey said.
A second teacher suspended after the incident, Hope Black, has also been cleared by the district. Black will be allowed back into the classroom.
Parents accuse Black of grabbing one girl so hard by the neck that it injured her.
The State Attorney's Office says it is looking at whether to file criminal charges against her, but that doesn't appear likely after the school system's decision.
When contacted, Stickles said he didn't want to comment until the State Attorney's Office had made its decision.
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