Student suspended for extra chicken nugget

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee high school student suspended a day for buying an extra chicken nugget during lunch had the suspension overturned earlier this week.

Carson Koller — a senior at Farragut High School in Knoxville, Eagle Scout and the captain of the band's drum line — received a one-day suspension Monday for theft of property after he took six chicken nuggets from the lunch line instead of the usual five.

"How is it theft if he paid for it?" Koller's mother, Carrie Koller Waller, wrote in a Facebook post. "It's food. FOOD!!! Not weapons. Not drugs. Not alcohol. Not cheating on a test. ... I am shaking my head over this and not sure what to do. Laugh, punish, argue, dress him up as a nugget bandit, or let it go."

The suspension was rescinded Tuesday morning after Waller sent a letter to several school administrators and spoke to Farragut principal Ryan Siebe on the phone.

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"I know it wasn't your intent to overcharge Carson and I know it was not my son's intent to steal an extra nugget from you," Waller wrote in the letter, which she posted to Facebook. "He was hungry. He took six total nuggets. He entered his number, and the cashier rang him up. The cashier then realized Carson had more food than what she calculated. He entered his number again and paid the additional charge. Everything on his tray was paid for prior to walking away. He was then asked for his name and told to sit in another area and speak to the principal."

School officials initially said Koller had stolen the nugget, but a screenshot posted by Waller on Facebook showed her son had been charged three times for the lunch — one extra lunch charge of $2.75, one lunch entree charge of $2.50, and another charge of $2.75.

"Principal Siebe reviewed the matter and found there was some misinformation about the details, and after further investigation, corrected the situation," said Carly Harrington, spokeswoman for Knox County Schools.

Harrington didn't give specifics.

Waller wrote in a Facebook post that she was pleased with how Siebe handled the situation once she presented the facts to him.

"He was very willing to review the situation and make things right," she wrote. "Carson only missed part of his first class today."

Follow Travis Dorman on Twitter: @travdorman