Teacher fired after putting students in trunk for snack run

CATOOOSA, Okla. — An Oklahoma school board has fired a math teacher and yearbook instructor after she went on a candy run with 11 students, including two locked in the trunk of her car.

The Tulsa World reported Friday the Catoosa board fired Heather Cagle after a six-hour hearing. Cagle taught at Wells Middle School.

Superintendent Rick Kibbe said the students need a safe environment.

According to board lawyer Karen Long, Cagle was suspended Oct. 23 after doing “something sweet” by taking the yearbook staff to a Wal-Mart a mile from campus. Two students rode in the front seat of a Honda Accord, seven rode in the back seat and two were in the trunk.

Long said Cagle didn’t have parental permission, either.

Cagle’s lawyer called the board’s action “a cowardly decision.”