A second grader at Sangaree Elementary School was kicked out of school for waving a toy gun on a school bus.  Her father says the punishment does not fit the crime. He says his daughter’s friend actually brought the gun onto the bus, but that child is not up for expulsion.

“She brought it on the bus and showed it to me and I went around telling people to freeze,” Kiez said.

Other parents heard what happened and complained to the district. Kiez was banned from school, but her friend is still allowed to go to class.

“The girl that brought the gun to school didn’t get anything; not even a slap on the wrist,” Harry Zellars, Kiez’s father, explained.

Zellars admits his daughter broke the rules, but says this is not the way to handle the situation. 

“If you keep throwing them out of school, that won’t solve the problem. The education she could have had she now has to repeat,” he said.

The district says they cannot comment on this case, but that Zellars will have an expulsion hearing tomorrow. Berkeley County Schools has a zero tolerance policy on real guns, but no such policy on look-alike weapons.

Email To A Friend