A Florida middle school principal tried to shoplift $37.45 worth of groceries using a scam his “friends” told him about – proving our education system isn’t just teaching kids garbage, it’s being run by petty criminals.
At a Glance
- Gregory Lewis, principal of Bok Academy North in Florida, was arrested for “skip scanning” items at a Walmart self-checkout
- He attempted to steal light bulbs, bacon, and frozen shrimp worth $37.45 by scanning cheaper items and hiding more expensive ones
- Lewis admitted to the crime, claiming he was “trying a tactic his friends told him about”
- This follows a disturbing trend, including another Florida principal who stole $900 from a mentally handicapped 9-year-old student
- Both principals have been placed on administrative leave pending investigation
When Educators Become the Criminals
Remember when principals were figures of authority who commanded respect and taught students about integrity? Well, those days are apparently long gone. Gregory Lewis, principal of Bok Academy North in Winter Haven, Florida, decided to supplement his administrator’s salary by shoplifting at the local Walmart. This educational leader, responsible for shaping young minds, couldn’t resist using a “skip scanning” tactic at self-checkout to swipe items worth a whopping $37.45 – because apparently, his salary doesn’t cover bacon and frozen shrimp.
When caught red-handed, Lewis immediately owned up to his crime with the excuse that would make any middle-schooler proud: his friends told him to do it. “I did something dumb today and I understand it,” Lewis admitted to police, according to reports. This is the same explanation my 13-year-old neighbor gave when he was caught throwing eggs at cars – except he’s a child, not someone entrusted with overseeing the education and moral development of hundreds of students.
The Epidemic of Sticky-Fingered School Leaders
If you think Lewis’s case is an isolated incident, think again. The education system is apparently becoming a magnet for petty thieves. In another Florida case, Edward John Abernathy, an elementary school principal in Pasco County, was arrested for stealing $900 from a mentally handicapped 9-year-old child. Let that sink in. This “educator” saw a vulnerable special needs child with $2,100 of his parents’ money and decided to help himself to nearly half of it when the mother came to retrieve the cash.
“Subsequent investigation by deputies determined the principal kept the $900 difference,” reported the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office.
The absolute gall of these so-called “educators” is astounding. They’re stealing from Walmart and special needs children while lecturing parents about “equity” and “social justice.” These are the same people who want to indoctrinate our children with their values? What values would those be – “theft is fine as long as you don’t get caught” or perhaps “rules are for the little people”?
The Death of Professional Standards
Retired teacher James Barker hit the nail on the head when commenting on Lewis’s case: “Unfortunately, it’s turning our profession into a sad situation.” The education establishment that constantly demands more funding, more respect, and more control over our children can’t even maintain basic ethical standards among its leadership.
Barker continued, “More and more people are doing just stupid things without any regard to the consequences not only for themselves but the reputation of our profession.”
This collapse of integrity isn’t limited to American shores. The same report notes that in Japan, a principal was fired for underpaying for coffee. At least in Japan, they still have standards. Here in America, these educational leaders will probably be back at their desks after a slap on the wrist and some “sensitivity training” – not about why stealing is wrong, but about how they’re victims of a system that forced them to commit crimes to get by on their six-figure salaries.
Setting Examples for Our Youth
What are we teaching our children when the very people charged with their education are caught stealing? These are the same administrators who suspend students for the slightest infractions of increasingly arbitrary rules. They’ll expel a kid for having a butter knife in their lunchbox but expect understanding when they’re caught shoplifting or stealing from children. The hypocrisy is staggering, but completely on-brand for an education system that has abandoned its core mission in favor of political agendas and self-interest.
Both Lewis and Abernathy have been placed on administrative leave – with pay, no doubt – while investigations continue. Meanwhile, taxpayers foot the bill for their salaries, their substitutes, and the police resources needed to investigate their crimes. Perhaps it’s time we applied the same zero-tolerance policies to educators that they so eagerly enforce on students. After all, if a third-grader can understand “don’t steal,” surely someone with a master’s degree in education administration should be able to grasp the concept.
