Lorain, Ohio – A family in Ohio is filing a federal civil rights lawsuit against an elementary school after a disturbing video shows a school cafeteria worker forcing a fourth-grade girl to eat a waffle she’d throw in the trash.
The shocking video, captured by school surveillance cameras inside the cafeteria of Palm Elementary in Lorain, shows the 9-year-old girl dumping her lunch tray, which contained a waffle, into the garbage in front of the worker. The cafeteria worker, later identified as Monika Sommers-Fridenstine, then fishes the waffle out of the trash bin, appears to wipe it off, and gives it back to the child to eat. All this happened while the school’s principal, Deborah Pustulka, stood by and did nothing, according to the suit.
The incident occured in December 2021, however the surveillance video was just recently released by the Lorain City Schools following a public records request.
Jared Klebanow, the attorney representing the girl’s family, questioned whether the incident was racially motivated. The student is Black and both the cafeteria worker and principal are White. The girl’s family filed the federal civil rights lawsuit, accusing the school official of having racially motivated intentions.
“Hundreds of caucasian children have thrown away their lunches at Palm Elementary school and, upon information and belief, have never been required to eat food pulled from the garbage,” the lawsuit states.
The cafeteria worker and the school’s principal were both fired on December 16 after the school district investigated the incident.
The girl’s mother, Latosha Williams told 19 News, her daughter simply didn’t like waffles and became ill after eating the soiled lunch. Williams also said she lost her job after having to take time off to care for her child, who she said doesn’t like school anymore.
“She’s changed at home,” Williams told the news outlet. “She doesn’t even want to go to school.”
District superintendent Jeff Graham addressed the issue after the investigation, saying, “Any infringement upon the dignity and respect of our students will not be tolerated. 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.”
