Back in our day, high school and middle school students were known for pulling pranks – sometimes dangerous ones – at or near the end of the school year.
Now teachers – supposedly mature adults – are apparently doing the same thing.
Michael Madonia, a high school band teacher from Lansing, Illinois, has lost his job and been charged with a misdemeanor for pouring oil used on musical instruments all over two flights of stairs in the school.
There were no reportedly injuries, but clearly someone could have been seriously hurt. Madonia told school officials he only pulled the stunt as a prank.
That’s what I said when I ignited a smoke bomb in the boy’s room – in the eighth grade. But I never would have poured a slippery substance on any walking surface, because at the age of 14 I knew somebody could be injured by such a stunt.
Medonia is 56.
From NWITimes.com:
Following a police investigation, Madonia, 56, was charged with a misdemeanor offense of reckless conduct, village spokesman Fabian Newman said. Madonia is scheduled to appear July 22 at the 6th District Cook County Circuit Courthouse in Markham for a hearing.
When confronted by school officials, Williams said Madonia immediately offered his resignation, which the School Board will vote to accept when they are scheduled to meet again June 24.
But district officials did not make the decision to turn the issue into a police matter until a few days after the resignation was received.
“We think this is a serious matter, one that warranted police involvement,” Williams said.
At the time of the incident, Madonia already was suspended from his band director’s post because of incidents that occurred earlier this year.
In April, the District 215 School Board imposed a suspension that would have run through the end of May. At the time, school officials said Madonia had violated various board policies and procedures, although they would not specify what those policies were.
