Okay, what in the world is going on here?
A JAR OF PICKLES?!?!?
A surprise to no one, this story gets filed under "Florida Woman."
Keep in mind, this teacher is only "accused" of biting the two high school students, though she has admitted to at least licking them—yes, over a jar of pickles.
Must've been some mighty fine pickles!
The story goes, Ms. Rice was visiting the school store one day back in October and grabbed herself a jar of pickles. Apparently, the veteran teacher didn't have any cash on her, because she just tried to yank the pickles from the store for free.
Two students were working the store and tried to get the pickles back from her before she could make her escape. It was then that Ms. Rice allegedly bit the two students.
"She just bit them on the forearm and, of course, they released and she was able to get the pickles but there's other ways to do that," said [one of the student's guardians].
The students reported the behavior to school administrators.
The boys claim the bites were hard enough to leave a mark, which is a bit troubling.
In her defense, Rice said she was just messing around with the kids. Though I don't see how leaving bite marks on a student's arm over a jar of pickles constitutes "messing around."
Real quick, do you think these were dill pickles or sweet pickles? I could go for either, though I prefer dill. Man, the more I get into this story, the more I just want to go to the store, buy some fresh cucumbers and a little garlic...heck, I've got everything else I need in the pantry. Anyhow, I'll have to save that thought for later.
Moving on.
Rice has since been placed on paid administrative leave for her strange actions:
"Although she described her actions as playing around with students, we expect our employees to act professionally and serve as models of mature behavior. They must set a good example for students to follow, and anything less is unacceptable," wrote Polk County Public Schools spokesperson Jason Geary in a statement.
She's been teaching for the district since 2000 and has a few disciplinary actions on her personal file not worth noting here.
Rice is also in a bit of trouble with the law for this:
Bartow police and the state attorney's office have filed two misdemeanor battery charges against Rice. She is set to be arraigned on March 31.
😬
Okay, I have to ask: why are they selling jars of pickles at the school store?
And why is this teacher so obsessed with them?
Was there a pickling contest?
Does Ms. Rice have a stake in the school garden?
Never mind the biting.
What is the deal with the pickles?!?!
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