Local speculations about how a Bartlett student brought a knife to school on Aug. 31 have sounded much more alarming than the truth, according to school officials.
Bartlett City Schools’ Communications Coordinator Jason Sykes explained what happened at Bon Lin Middle School: A female student brought a steak lunch from home, so she also packed a steak knife. When she got to lunch, she thought better about using the knife and asked the cafeteria workers if it was permitted.
They told her no and took possession of the knife. One of those adults took the knife to the front office, where the student was allowed to pick it up after school.
That’s all it was, Sykes said. Some media picked up on the story from the school officer’s report and community discussions. But the student was not arrested or disciplined by the school for her mistake. It helped that she was the one who brought the utensil to the attention of school staff.
The incident also happened earlier in the week, not on Aug. 31, Sykes said.
